Apple to switch on the TV in your living room in 2012

After taking the smartphone and tablet markets by storm, Apple is planning to dominate the living room with yet another slickly-designed user-friendly device -- an Apple TV.

According to multiple reports Apple intends on revolutionising the TV market in 2012.

"Apple is working on new technology to deliver video to televisions, and has been discussing whether to try to launch a subscription TV service, according to people familiar with the matter," said an August 26 article in the The Wall Street Journal.

"Apple is almost certainly working on a digital television based on its iOS operating system, according to multiple sources in Silicon Valley," reported technology blog VentureBeat after speaking with sources that include Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster and Venture capitalist Stewart Alsop of Alsop Louie ventures.

Steward Alsop told VentureBeat that "Apple will do to television manufacturers what it did to phone makers with the iPhone."

VentureBeat suggested that Apple's vision could "tie seamlessly into other Apple devices, like the iPhone, iPad and MacBook Air, giving the company an enviable full-circle consumer product line," and added that the Apple TV might function similarly to the smart devices seen in a promotional video published by Gorilla Glass maker Corning.

Apple has long been rumored to be working on a smart TV. In June 2011 a former Apple executive who spoke to technology blog DailyTech on the condition of anonymity revealed that Apple had teamed up with a "major OEM to sell iOS-powered, Apple branded displays."

Despite the continued rumors, many tech pundits remain doubtful about Apple's entry into the TV market. Skeptics say Apple won't enter the TV market because it has a very low replacement cycle (most families won't replace their TV for between 5 to 10 years) and low margins.

Earlier this year Google tested the waters by teaming up with Sony and other manufacturers to release a line of Google TVs and set top boxes that were designed to disrupt the market. The project was met with a lukewarm response, however Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt recently announced that Google TV will launch in Europe by early next year.