Apple Working On a New iPad App to Compete with Cable Providers? [Rumor]

By

overview_airplay_20110303

Today has been quite the day for rumors. Apple’s “Let’s Talk iPhone” event is tomorrow, so everyone is getting in last minute speculation about what we’ll see Cook and co. unveil onstage.

Something from well-known blogger Robert Scoble has been largely overlooked: the claim that Apple is working on a new iPad app to compete with the likes of DirecTV and other cable/dish providers.

Scoble posted some info and thoughts about Apple, Google and Facebook on his Google+ account earlier today. He mentioned that Steve Jobs is probably too sick to attent Apple’s event tomorrow.

An interesting paragraph talks about an iPad app that Apple is allegedly working on:

“I’m hearing that Apple is working on a new iPad app that looks a lot like DirecTV without the dish, too. Again, that app will have Steve Jobs’ fingerprints all over it as it will be more expansive than the press is expecting in its content availability. There’s a reason Apple built a 500,000-square-foot datacenter (about twice the size of a Facebook one, by the way) and that new datacenter is for video and the data that video causes to be shared with everyone. Will Reed Hastings CEO at Netflix be on stage tomorrow to help Apple explain its three-screen strategy? I sure hope so, because that would explain further why Netflix split up its streaming and DVD businesses a lot better than Reed’s been able to so far.”

There have been whispers that Apple will eventually introduce a TV/movie subscription service to compete against Netflix. Netflix recently split up its DVD and streaming divisions. Would Apple work with Netflix, or do its own thing?

What do you think? Is Scoble on to something here?

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.