Apple TV: 'Not If But When,' Says Piper's Munster

The biggest believer in the the Apple TV story continues to believe.In a new report, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster writes that the evidence that Apple is working on a television continues to mount. He cites these factors:

Checks with the supply chain this week and over the past two years.Tim Cook’s interview at the D: All Things Digital conference. (I live blogged it.)Hints in Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs.Various third party reports.

“We believe ‘if’ has been decided and the question is now ‘when.’ We stand by our previously stated timeline of unveiling the TV late this year with a launch in the first half of 2013 (6 months following the unveiling),” he writes in the report.

Munster expects the TV to sell at retail for $1,500 to $2,000, and to come in screen sizes ranging from 42 to 55 inches. He thinks a move into TVs could boost calendar 2013 revenues by 4%-8%. “We believe the current focus on Apple revolutionizing content consumption is taking away from the more important fact that the interface of the TV will revolutionize how consumers interact with their living room which will be Apple Televisions key selling point,” he writes.

Munster provided some details on what he thinks will be the key components of the Apple television:
Interface: He expects the TV to include Siri voice controls as well as compatibility with third-party devices as well as potential integration with content guides. “offering consumers improved control which should lead to greater value from their monthly cable subscribers.”

He thinks cable companies could cause a fee to use Apple Televisions of $5-$10 a month, equivalent to a cable box rental fee. “Some investors do not believe Apple will be able to gain control of cable interfaces due to advertising on the interface, but we note that the ads are typically house ads and are not significant revenue contributors,” he writes.

Apps/Games. He thinks the television will be compatible with the App Store, allowing the download of games, mushc and other content and applications. He contends that gaming will be of particular interest to the large group of iOS game developers.

Design: “We believe the Apple television will include many existing Apple styling cues including aluminum casing and reduction of wires,” he writes. “We expect the design of the TV to make it the stand-out center piece of the consumer’s living room. We expect the TV to be LCD given the high cost of OLED panels.

Content. “While many believe content will be the key differentiator for the Apple television, we expect at launch Apple may not necessarily revolutionize the content industry,” he writes.

“Ultimately we believe that consumers and Apple want unbundled channels and more options including time shifting to watch content, but note that content owners are hesitant to change.”Apple this morning is sliding along with the broader market: the stock is off $6.98, or 1.2%, to $570.75.

T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II getting ICS June 11^th

If you've been waiting... and waiting... and waiting some more for Ice Cream Sandwich to show up on the US variants of the Galaxy S II, it looks like the upgrade is ready to begin trickling in. T-Mobile is the first to announce an official date for its flavor of last year's flagship device, with its version of the GSII rolling out on June 11th. Unfortunately, it's not an OTA refresh as we'd prefer -- you'll have to surrender yourself to the will of Kies, but at least it's going to be available. AT&T and Sprint, the move is now yours to make.