Although initially the television designed by the Apple company was suggestively named iTV, an American analyst says that the true name of the product could be iPanel and the device would be more than a simple TV. The American analyst claims that at the moment the components necessary for the manufacture of the television are on their way to the factories of Apple's partners and that in May the companies will officially start the production process. The device would have an IGZO screen capable of displaying HD images of clearly superior quality to other screens used for televisions, but I heard rumors about IGZO screens even before the iPad 3 launch and in the end they turned out to be just a simple story.
Hai and its related entities are the largest shareholder (with a ~6% stake) in Chimei Innolux which is the largest LCD display manufacturer in Taiwan. Recent reports note that Chimei Innolux is running at 80% capacity utilization for its large-size panels, which leads us to believe that Hon Hai's Sharp investment is less about securing capacity and more about its relationship with Apple and the upcoming launch of the iTV. We believe Sharp and Apple have modified the IGZO (indium, gallium, zinc) technology to make much-improved HD displays. The Sharp relationship will enable Apple to diversify away from Samsung and gain additional display capacity with leading-edge technology.
Leaving the screen technology aside, we move on to the name that changes from iTV to iPanel and I for one believe that the new name is just the fruit of the imagination of an Apple employee or the code name used by the company for the television prototype. The American analyst claims that the iPanel name was chosen because the iTV brand was registered by a British television station and it is not known if Apple would be interested in buying the brand for its product. A second explanation would be related to the functions of the product, which would not only be a TV but a media hub, a "computer" and an environment where users could access Game Center, for example.
Misek explains in an email this morning that his conjecture regarding the name derives from the fact that the "iTV" name is owned by the UK company of the same name, which has global rights, he says, "and won't sell them based on recent checks," although it's still possible in the end the company could sell to Apple. "They may be just negotiating" at present, but he can't be sure, he tells me... Moreover, "iPanel" is owned by Crestron, "which discontinued its product line and is focusing more on Apple products to integrate in their system ,” he adds. It would be consistent, too, with a naming convention of "iP___" for Apple products. This is so much more than a TV...It is a display, gaming center, media hub, computer, home automation, etc. Also, Apple would likely have difficulty getting naming rights from the UK TV network ITV.
Regardless of how Apple chooses to name its product, it is very clear that the TV exists and is already being tested in the company's laboratories.
UPDATE: It seems that the new iPanel could cost no less than $1250.
