Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)’s Next Xbox Could be the Ultimate Smart TV

Apple’s rumored TV

Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster has been predicting an Apple TV for years. Munster’s prediction has been bolstered by comments the late Steve Jobs made to his biographer, as well as current CEO Tim Cook’s remarks about a TV to NBC’s Brian Williams.

At this point, no one appears to know when the device will finally be available. In the past, Apple’s TV has been rumored to offer users the ability to purchase subscriptions to individual channels a la carte, rather than paying cable companies large monthly subscriptions for bundles of channels.

Analysts at Pacific Crest said last August that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s inability to get content providers to agree to such a plan was delaying the release of Apple’s TV indefinitely.

From an interface perspective, Apple’s TV has been reported to incorporate features such as voice command, motion controls and connectivity with Apple’s other mobile devices.

Microsoft could be well positioned in the smart TV wars

If TVs prove to be the next tech battleground, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) might prove to the best positioned company of them all. It has been steadily converting its Xbox line from a pure video game console to a full-fledged entertainment hub, complete with features (voice/motion control) Apple’s upcoming television is only rumored to have. If a purchase of Netflix ever came to fruition, the company would only cement Xbox further as a powerful force in internet media.

That could be bad news for Apple, or any other company hoping to enter the smart TV market. In the end, the launch of the Xbox 3 could be the single biggest event for TV in 2013.

The article Microsoft’s Next Xbox Could be the Ultimate Smart TV originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Salvatore “Sam” Mattera.

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