Munster on Apple’s mythical HDTV set: “It will be the biggest thing in consumer electronics since the smartphone - by aby benedict

Pictured above: An Apple television concept render by Guilherme Schasiepen

Piper Jaffray’s resident Apple analyst Gene Munster stands out as arguably the most outspoken proponent of an Apple-branded HD TV television set, the mythical iTV. With all eyes now on Apple’s iPad 3 unveiling next Wednesday, the pundits are also keeping their fingers crossed for a much-needed Apple TV refresh with 1080p video output and a faster processor, among other things – especially now that Apple TVs are increasingly disappearing from shelves.

Piggy-backing on the forthcoming product unveiling hype, Munster shed more light on what he thinks a full-blown television set adorned by the shiny Apple logo should be like, in yesterday’s interview with Bloomberg Radio’s Tom Keene and Ken Pruitt. Munster’s betting Apple will introduce the rumored product some time this year and is expecting a Fall availability. You will want to buy it because:

It’s going to live up to some of the building hype. It will be the biggest thing in consumer electronics since the smartphone.

From the design standpoint, the iTV “will look different” than your regular telly. “Imagine just a sheet of glass – no edges or bevels”. The analyst re-iterated his previous observations, including strong focus on content consumption (presumably delivered through iTunes/iCloud) and Siri voice control. More notes right below.

The analyst is also expecting the iTV will let you both channel surf the traditional way – using a remote control – and navigate by using your voice (“show me sci-fi movies rated 8/10 and released last year”). He speculated this dual-mode navigation is“the code that Steve Jobs said he had cracked in his biography”. Last April, Munster asserted Apple would have to introduce a new video-focused service alongside the iTV, presumably serving scheduled/live TV plus movies and TV shows. The service is said to stem from an alleged array of super data centers that Apple is supposedly keen on building the world over.

Munster is well-known for touching on the subject of an Apple televison in his notes to clients. A month ago he claimed Apple was tapping a “major TV component supplier” and inquiring about“various capabilities of their television display components”, echoing an October 2011 report by the New York Times. The key – as always – will be premium content.“Without a revamped TV content solution, we do not think Apple enters the TV market”, Munster opined, sharing a sentiment published in the Wall Street Journal.