Apple Stock Trades Up On TV And iPhone 6 Talk

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Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price has traded up significantly in the last few days as the iPhone and iPad manufacturer recovers from its below par revenue information released to the city a couple of months ago.

Many investors were lukewarm on the consumer electronics manufacturer’s prospects after Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) failed to show a significantly high potential for growth in its last revenue figures.

But such negativity always seemed awry to me. The fact is that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) remains a hugely powerful corporation and brand, and its last sales figures were actually record breaking. There is little or no evidence that Apple’s most popular brands have waned in popularity, and there are continual murmurings and rumors coming out of the company which indicate that Apple might be ready to move into new product lines in the near future.

Apple plans TV shake-up?

The latest news regarding Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is that it is planning to shake up the television industry. This is nothing that could particularly be described as a revelation; a move by Apple in TV in some respect has been predicted for years. But we are now hearing solid evidence that Apple is looking to seriously expand its presence in television.

While the Apple TV service has been out for some time, the Wall Street Journal is reporting today that this is by no means the end of Apple’s televisual ambitions. The finance newspaper reports on a plan which Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is currently hatching and negotiating on to build a set-top box that would stream live and on-demand television to customers over Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA)’s private network. The major intention for this is thought to be the desire on Apple’s behalf to avoid performance problems related to Internet video. Although some broadband-based television services have been launched, perhaps most notably the BT Vision service in the UK, Apple is looking to sidestep any problems which could be caused by bandwidth issues.

Apple holds Comcast talks

According to the Wall Street Journal, the project has gotten as far as the stage of talks being held between Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). There seems little doubt that Comcast will be open to such an approach from a massive name like Apple, but at the time of writing a deal is apparently not particularly close to occurring.

Two potential stumbling blocks exist for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). Firstly, Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) has been its own set-top box, and might not be overly keen on conceding too much ground to Apple, although they may ultimately recognize the business and economic benefits. Secondly, Apple would need to hash out deals with a number of media companies with regard to the content that it would be broadcasting. Until now, media companies haven’t exactly bent over backwards to strike such deals, but if anyone can pull it off then it’s a company such as Apple. The future of television has been predicted to be changing for some time; this could be the first solid step in such a direction.

iPhone 6 due in August / September

Meanwhile, as I’ve predicted in the past, UBS analyst Steven Milunovich has stated today that the iPhone 6 will launch in August / September this year. With both major TV and smartphone business on the horizon, it all adds up to a potential bumper second half of the year for Apple.

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