Apple calls TV a 'hobby'

Apple, which reported strong quarterly earnings yesterday but also forecast lower profit margins for later this year, may still be tinkering with its Apple TV concept. An Apple official said on the earnings call that Apple TV remains a "hobby" for the company, which is not exactly what you would expect any of the entrants in the highly competitive TV/Web video distribution market to say at this point.

As companies like TiVo and Amazon are unleashing new offerings designed to compete with Apple TV, Gartner analyst Mike McGuire told BusinessWeek that Apple might be planning a second revamp of Apple TV. While TV has eluded the company's golden touch, no one else has come close to dominating the market for packaging online video over the TV.

For more:
- see this story at BusinessWeek