In a report this week, industry group the OLED Association noted that Apple had hired away James (Jueng-jil) Lee from LG Display. At LG he was a research fellow working on creating a printed organic light-emitting diode (OLED) based television. And perhaps more importantly, he’s an expert in LCD production: before he was at LG he started new LCD product lines at Samsung and was heavily involved in their LCD research efforts.

Lee is ”no doubt more knowledgeable about OLEDs that any of Apple’s current staff, which is known to be quite strong,” according to the OLED Association.

Apple has refused to give any information about whether it’s getting into the television market. Cook has said several times that TV is “a market that’s been left behind” and for Apple is “an area of intense interest,” but that’s as far as he’ll go. Hiring an expert in getting a new display line up and going definitely seems more like action than mere “interest.”

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But before you get out your wallet, remember that these are just prototypes. We’ve heard these rumors before, and we’ll likely continue to hear them as Apple figures out how to move its strategy for the living room beyond a “hobby.” The Journal‘s story is careful to point out just how early these tests are, with a source quoted saying, “It isn’t a formal project yet” and that “Apple could opt not to proceed with the device.” In other words, according to this story Apple doesn’t have a concrete plan just yet, and they are still figuring things out.

It is not exactly breaking news that Apple is exploring what to do in the area of television. In fact, just last week CEO Tim Cook told NBC that television is “an area of intense interest” for Apple. The company has been working on this for years. Steve Jobs famously told his biographer before his death in 2011 that he had “cracked” TV, which led to more rumors that an Apple twist on a television would arrive as early as “late 2012.”

What content would be on this television that would distinguish it from Apple’s currently available $99 set-top box is an arguably bigger and more important question. Apple’s devices are about what content you can get on them. And as recent stories leaked to the press have shown, Apple and the major content providers have yet to reach an agreement.

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• Apple revealed during a courtroom session in its Samsung trial today that it’s licensed some of its iOS design patents to Microsoft, but with the agreement that Microsoft not try to use them to clone any Apple devices, Reuters reports.
• Technology Review looks at how far iPhone security has come since 2007. With app sandboxing and device encryption today, it is so secure that it’s mostly impossible for law enforcement to search iPhones for forensic evidence.
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• Apple’s already killed the optical drive in the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro with Retina Display. Computerworld looks at the evidence that Apple may be killing the optical drive in more Macs pretty soon.

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Bilton says Siri is the key to Jobs’ feeling that he finally “cracked it,” as Walter Isaacson’s biography quotes him saying. What he cracked was a streamlining of the interface so that control is intuitive and simple. Thanks to Siri, Bilton says, you could now just talk to your TV set, and it would respond to your commands.

Other new details include plans dating back as early as 2007, after Apple had released the original Apple TV, to make a complete set. The product has since been definitely in the works at Apple, its development spurred on by the fact that “Steve thinks to the industry is totally broken,” according to one of Bilton’s source. In the Isaacson biography, it’s revealed that many other successful Apple products, including the iPod and the iPhone, were created based on the same sense on the part of Jobs that what was already out there was sub-par.

As to when this might arrive, Bilton says it is “close enough” now that it might be announced as early as late 2012, with a 2013 release date in terms of actually getting the product in the hands of consumers. The hold-up is mainly about waiting until the cost of large display components falls far enough to make it possible for Apple to offer the TV at a competitive price point. Making the product thin and light is also another development hurdle facing its release, according to the report.

Many pundits have proclaimed an Apple television a bad idea, but it’s a chorus we’ve heard many times before; the iPod, iPhone and iPad all had very vocal detractors, with plenty of negative reaction even after the product was actually unveiled.

Also, as John Gruber points out, commenting on the release of the Bloomberg TV 24-hour live video app, “Apps are the new channels.” If Apple can get more content providers to produce similar content-delivery solutions for its iOS devices, it’ll have much bait with which to lure potential Apple television customers whenever that product does make it to market.

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This isn’t a new tune for Munster. The analyst has periodically raised the possibility of an actual Apple TV (not to be confused with the small, set-top device Apple currently sells) since 2009. He’s not alone in thinking Apple could go that way, but he has been the most vocal herald of a move many others have seen as unlikely.

Munster has high expectations for an Apple television’s effect on Apple’s bottom line, too. He thinks that adding one to its lineup of devices in late 2012 will grow the company’s revenue by 3 percent in 2013, thanks to the rising consumer interest in Internet-connected home entertainment solutions. An Apple television would benefit from access to strong existing content ecosystems, including the iTunes and App Stores, as well as more recent cloud-connected end-user services like iCloud and the voice-powered Siri virtual assistant.

It would be great to be able to directly access your past iTunes media purchases directly through your television, without the need for any other connected devices, and to bark commands at the TV instead of using a remote, or ask it to look up an actor in the program you’re currently watching on IMDB,  for example.  But that kind of integration won’t come cheap, with Munster estimating that a 40-inch Apple television could cost as much as $800 more than its basic LCD TV equivalent.

Still, that upfront cost difference is offset when you consider that add-ons like DVRs and media devices won’t be required, since the Apple TV set will effectively be an all-in-one content delivery solution (provided you’re okay with staying inside Apple’s ecosystem).

That easy access to games, movies, TV and likely live sports, too, as we’ve seen added via apps and subscription services to the existing Apple TV, along with claims in his biography that Apple has “cracked” the key to making an Apple television appealing and easy-to-use, could help it gain traction as it enters the crowded TV market.

On the other hand, smart TVs are quickly becoming commonplace, as manufacturers add their own apps and media sources (such as integrated Netflix) to keep connected consumers happy. Apple has its media and software ecosystem advantage, with market-leading digital music, video and app sales, but whether customers are willing to pay more upfront for the privilege of accessing that ecosystem is another question entirely. Also, TVs, are low-frequency purchases and have low margins, too, so some think they don’t make sense from the standpoint of Apple’s model of frequent hardware updates and high margin sales.

Would you pay extra for an Apple television with all the features of the current Apple TV bundled inside? Would the addition of Siri, iCloud or an actual App Store affect your decision?

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