According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Apple is working with Asian component suppliers to test a number of different Apple TV sets.
Officials at some of Apple’s suppliers, who declined to be named, said the Cupertino, Calif.-based company has been working on testing a few designs for a large-screen high-resolution TV.
Their sources point to Hon Hai (Foxconn) and Sharp as two such companies in the midst of testing, though apparently Apple has been playing around with television set designs for years. This move to testing with other companies — rather than strictly internally — may indicate that Apple is getting nearer actually launching a television set. However, don’t get your hopes too high, as one of the sources said, ”it isn’t a formal project yet. It is still in the early stage of testing.”
This really is the rumor that refuses to die — we’ve been hearing reports of an Apple television set for years. In all probability, Apple has been working on one for years, as part of one of its many “pie in the sky” projects that might not go anywhere. It’s like how Apple doubtless tests iPhones of many different sizes and shapes before settling on one. However, the fact that the information on an Apple TV is filtering down to a major daily publication like the Wall Street Journal — one with a relatively close connection to Apple — might mean that this is getting just a bit more real.
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