Apple's LCD TV Not Out Yet and Already Making Waves

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've heard the rumors of a pending Apple-branded television. Not that underachieving AppleTV black box, but a full-fledged flat panel TV that will somehow (and it's not hard to imagine how) revolutionize and simplify the home theater and television-watching experience. But check this out - KAE, a marketing and research company, started asking consumers if they'd be interested in an Apple-branded TV. In fact, they asked them if they'd buy one. 25 percent of U.S. respondents said they'd buy it today. A full 30 percent of UK consumers said the same thing. But that's not the end of it. When you factor in people who already own at least one Apple product, the number jumps 12 percent.

So if you live in the US and own an Apple product, there's a 38 percent chance you'll buy an Apple TV when it's available.

That's a 38% chunk out of the market. That means Vizio, Sony, Samsung, LG, and others are all going to take a major hit if and when this television hits the market. Apple, of course, will shoot through the roof and basically OWN the consumer electronics market. KAE's survey basically dooms companies like Vizio, Samsung, and LG who are leading the market right now. KAE even ran some "conversion" numbers to see who would jump ship from their current TVs to a new Apple-branded model. 36 percent of Samsung TV owners said they'd jump ship and 31 percent of LG owners said they'd "convert".

In a related survey, here are the top three features consumers said they'd like to see in an Apple-branded TV:

• Web features (73 percent)
• Apps (44 percent)
• Synchronization with other Apple devices (41 percent)

Here are the features we'd like to see:

• Unified remote control for all A/V gear with on-screen interface
• Automatic setup of all connected devices
• Integrated FaceTime
  

So would YOU buy an Apple-branded television? Join in on the discussion forums below and let us know!