Survey finds broad interest in an Apple TV

                                        

A survey out today finds that 88% of current Apple customers would be interested in buying an Apple television. More surprising, among non-Apple owners, 80% of owners of a flat-panel TV say they'd be extremely, very or somewhat interested in an Apple TV.

"This potential Apple (interactive TV) would affect the whole ecosystem of the home, as well as the mobile device environment," says Tamaryn Pratt, president of market researcher Quixel Research, which did the survey. "We wanted to hear from a consumer perspective."

Consumers were asked how interested they would be in an Apple-branded TV that would be easy to use, have a simple interface, connect to other Apple products and have Apple-like design qualities. The survey is timely, with new product announcements expected from Apple this month.

Speculation has been high that Apple has a TV in the works since Walter Isaacson'sSteve Jobs biography, released last October, quoted the Apple co-founder as having his sights set on an integrated TV that "would be seamlessly synched with your devices and with the iCloud."

Apple's TV product since 2007 has been a $99 set-top box that works with iTunes and streams content from Web video providers.

Pratt says there's lots of room for a better Web-enabled TV. About 30% of those surveyed own smart TVs but use them mostly for one-time access to video such as movies.

But the survey shows that consumers want to merge their home and mobile content, she says. "They do not want to forgo either. They are looking for a new experience … where they connect the two and they are complementary," Pratt says.

Newport Beach, Calif.-based Quixel surveyed 1,169 current and potential flat-screen TV owners about connected TVs. Other findings:

•Apple TV features of most interest to Apple owners: Wi-Fi (80%), cloud storage (73%), synching (67%).

•Least interesting: Siri-like voice command, gesture control and 3-D.

•Nearly 80% use a "second screen" while watching TV, most commonly laptops not connected to the TV. Apple owners are more likely to use smartphones (87%) and tablets (66%), too.

Some doubt Apple will get into the TV business, which has seen flat growth and falling margins. "If they do, it has to be a home run," says Bill Niemeyer, senior analyst at The Diffusion Group. "Maybe they have that rabbit in a hat that will make it a revolutionary gotta-have device. But I don't think so."