Software engineer Jeff Robbin, best known for his creation of the Apple iTunes program and help developing the iPod has been tapped to build Apple’s first standalone TV.
A source close to the project told Bloomberg on Tuesday that Apple hopes to have the project completed and ready for sale by early 2012.
The news comes after Steve Jobs told his biographer early this month that he “finally cracked” how to build a TV consumers would want while integrating all of their media into one spot. According to Jobs the TV was to have “the simplest user interface you could imagine.”
The project is said to have a search function that can search all of a users media streams including cable, Netflix, Hulu and other sources simultaneously, although some content providers have not been participating with that search initiative.
Jeff Robbin was so important to Steve Jobs that at one point he would not mention his name in the media for fear that they would jump ship when poached by another company.
Would you be willing to purchase a TV manufacturer with Apple if the search functionality and user stream information is as good as Steve Jobs has promised? One thing is for certain it will probably look amazing like all the rest of their hardware.
