Apple Interested In Acquiring German Television Maker Loewe? [Updated: Company Denies]

[TauCeti808]

Bloedsinn

Google translation doesn't always do it, so let me help:

Du Dummscheißer...in welcher Welt lebst Du denn?

BTW: While this is in another language it still is not in line with what is acceptable in this forum.

Yes, some posters don't think before they post or are blinded by fanaticism one way or the other and are just plain too young and inexperienced to think things through. Always amazing to see how uneducated people can be and just spew out stuff.

Man kann auch Blödsinn sagen, passt besser als Dummscheisser oder ähnliches.

But the Austrians do have much subtler and on the other hand harder words or sayings like "Geh Scheissen". However until this rumor and the rumor which features the potential Apple TV could have (voice interface, making phone calls - and more content (apps?)) - I could not imaging buying an probably expensive TV set.

But Apple knows how to surprise they have done it in the past, they are not naive, they can generate a lot of buzz and they know how to combine ideas, arrange superb processes and create great products.

So something is in the making. I would not be surprised if Apple is buying Loewe. But that would mean that Loewe products would vanish.

Does anyone remember a scene in "Back to the Future II" where is shown a TV set which can be used to make phone calls? And please do not say "prior art".

That is the future - may be Apple also invents the flying skateboard with built-in Anti-Gravitation. If they enter the TV market successfully - than - please Apple - think about cars, planes, white goods and all the other product segments that need some fresh ideas (there are plenty of them) - and I do prefer a homogenous technology environment in my home.

 

[kockgunner]

Don't know why your comment was downranked so much, you're completely right. Check multiple reliability surveys, Japanese cars always come out on top, and more frequently Korean cars too. My German-auto owning friends who buy and repair Audis and Mercs as a hobby even admit that the cars have spotty reliability. They like the tank-like feeling of the cars and the handling, but in terms of reliability and repairs they're a mixed bag.

I'm guessing most people on this forum just don't own a German car and they downrank anything they think is not true because it seems trollish. I thought it was well known German cars have a good ride, but aren't reliable.

 

[Imhotep397]

...Apple has no particular experience or capability when it comes to televisions. Major players like Samsung, Panasonic, Pioneer, and Loewe have many years of experience refining the specific performance characteristics of televisions. Ordering iPad panels from Samsung does not qualify Apple to be an expert in television engineering or production.

Apple has been designing videophile quality proofing displays for YEARS that have been used to finalize the look on probably hundreds of multi-million dollar films. Apple has been engineering successful consumer products from the ground up that average hundreds of dollars over the nearest competitors for YEARS. They do a little more than buy pre-fabbed LCD screens, check out their patent portfolio. Have you been living under a rock? Apple became a recognizable high end consumer electronics company in addition to computer company several years ago at this point...for a consumer television product I'm pretty certain their engineering team can cut it. On top of the fact that they're engineering and manufacturing every other consumer electronics company into the ground in the their respective product categories at this point there's no major electronics retailer that doesn't already have a deal in place to sell Apple products or isn't working on a deal to sell Apple products. On top of all of that they have their own global retail chain that moves millions in product annually. They also are better commercial clients for most advertising agencies than most, if not all, of the other consumer electronics companies.

The reality is that it seems that Apple is months away, not years away from releasing the product (...in other words they're at the end of the product development cycle already.) If it was a situation where Apple needed help engineering the TV from Leowes they would have done that back while Steve Jobs was still alive trying to figure it out if Apple just couldn't build it. Again it doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but if any of this is actually happening I suspect it's more a superficial strategic move to have a high end product name to lean on, or it could be to something to expedite some licensing issue, or it could be to grab a patent or two, or it could be just to have an idea about how exactly another electronics company might try to legally battle Apple before they release the product considering the amount of IP theft Apple has encountered thus far in the consumer market.

Either way it's probably too late in the game for Leowes to be integrally involved in the design/engineering process.

 

[scoobydoo99]

Apple has been designing videophile quality proofing displays for YEARS that have been used to finalize the look on probably hundreds of multi-million dollar films.

Monitors != televisions

Apple has been engineering successful consumer products from the ground up that average hundreds of dollars over the nearest competitors for YEARS. They do a little more than buy pre-fabbed LCD screens, check out their patent portfolio. Have you been living under a rock? Apple became a recognizable high end consumer electronics company in addition to computer company several years ago at this point...for a consumer television product I'm pretty certain their engineering team can cut it.

Consumer products, yes. TVs, no. High-end consumer product company? Of course. That isn't in dispute. And just because their engineering team CAN do it, doesn't mean that that is the most efficient means of achieving dominance in television manufacturing overnight.

On top of the fact that they're engineering and manufacturing every other consumer electronics company into the ground in the their respective product categories at this point there's no major electronics retailer that doesn't already have a deal in place to sell Apple products or isn't working on a deal to sell Apple products. On top of all of that they have their own global retail chain that moves millions in product annually. They also are better commercial clients for most advertising agencies than most, if not all, of the other consumer electronics companies.

Don't see how global retail and advertising are relevant here.

The reality is that it seems that Apple is months away, not years away from releasing the product (...in other words they're at the end of the product development cycle already.) If it was a situation where Apple needed help engineering the TV from Leowes they would have done that back while Steve Jobs was still alive trying to figure it out if Apple just couldn't build it. Again it doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but if any of this is actually happening I suspect it's more a superficial strategic move to have a high end product name to lean on, or it could be to something to expedite some licensing issue, or it could be to grab a patent or two, or it could be just to have an idea about how exactly another electronics company might try to legally battle Apple before they release the product considering the amount of IP theft Apple has encountered thus far in the consumer market.

Either way it's probably too late in the game for Leowes to be integrally involved in the design/engineering process.

If you think Apple is engineering a television in-house, you are the one living under a rock. It just doesn't make business sense. Apple's forte is in design and software. They are not going to re-invent the wheel when it comes to television technologies. They are going to take state-of-the-art TV tech from an existing manufacturer and package it in a hardware/software/media distribution bundle that will be very compelling.

But no, Apple engineers are not going to build a tv from the ground up.

 

[Imhotep397]

...But no, Apple engineers are not going to build a tv from the ground up.

With TV having gone digital through most of the world at the end of the day Televisions are computers which lowers the obstacle to entrance pretty dramatically. I'm pretty sure you also assumed Apple would acquire a telecom company or a mobile phone manufacturer to build a phone before they built the iPhone. Building a television today has a much, much, much lower hurdle to clear for a technology company that builds it's OS' and engineers it's own hardware.

 

[scoobydoo99]

With TV having gone digital through most of the world at the end of the day Televisions are computers which lowers the obstacle to entrance pretty dramatically. I'm pretty sure you also assumed Apple would acquire a telecom company or a mobile phone manufacturer to build a phone before they built the iPhone. Building a television today has a much, much, much lower hurdle to clear for a technology company that builds it's OS' and engineers it's own hardware.

I don't completely disagree with you. I know Apple could engineer a TV from the ground up very competently. But when they designed the iPhone, they went to existing manufacturers who had expertise that was applicable (e.g. Corning for glass, Samsung for displays, etc). Televisions have unique performance characteristics that are less relevant in small mobile displays (e.g. - refresh rate, black levels, etc). Why not leverage certain design elements from existing high-end manufacturers instead of starting from scratch?

 

[unigolyn]

Terrible idea. Germans are notorious for the poor quality of the products they manufacture.

Yes, shoddy German engineering and industrial design is one of those stereotypes that just won't die, much like the French abhorrence of cheese and the renowned politeness of Parisian waiters.