Can Kogan like them Apples?

I had to laugh on Sunday when tech fan Wolf Cocklin tweeted: “I really hope Kogan introduces a $20 tv so I can spend the extra money I get due to #carbontax on a new tv”.

I could almost imagine the press release arriving in my inbox from Kogan spruiking its latest bargain basement television arriving just in time for the latest tax cut beneficiaries. Kogan made a name for itself with the KEVIN 37 high definition LCD TV it launched in 2009 priced at $900, the exact same amount many Australians received as part of the then Rudd government's economic stimulus package.

If anyone can find a way to deliver a $20 TV Kogan founder Ruslan Kogan is the guy, but it's likely he has different priorities, particularly given fresh rumours tech giant Apple is working with Chinese and Taiwanese manufacturers to launch an Apple TV range that will deliver IP content direct from the Apple iTunes store.

Smart TV is where chip makers and TV manufacturers are investing seriously, with 22 of Samsung's 25 recently released television products falling into the smart TV category.

Apple already offers a set-top device in the internet TV market but Apple rumour land is currently full of speculation the upcoming release of iOS 5 will include Bluetooth support for wireless keyboards and possibly iPads and iPhones. Some say we may even see a built-in Safari web browser for the TV. If this comes to fruition it will be interesting to see if consumers embrace Apple's walled garden on their TVs.

The new world of TV will be just as much about the content delivered via non-traditional players as it is about screen size.

The television set is the one screen where Apple is still lacking, UBS Investment Research analyst Maynard Um said in a recent report, adding Apple's dominance in content delivery would allow it to take on the likes of Samsung, Sony and LG, but more interestingly eat into the pay TV market.

Of course Apple may prefer to be less ambitious, partnering with television manufacturers in the same way Google has partnered with Sony and Intel to offer Google TV. The fact it hasn't done this to date would suggest it's been assessing the market, most likely using the uptake of its set-top device as a guide to future investment.

In Australia demand for online video continues to grow with new data from comScore showing more than 10.7 million Australian internet users watched online video in May, with viewers averaging more than 10 hours of total viewing time during the month.

YouTube is the clear winner, delivering video to more than 8.6 million Australian viewers during the month, reaching 3 out of every 5 online users at an average of 70 videos per viewer.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation is also outperforming, with the average minutes per viewer beating the broader market at 66.6 minutes. This is most likely explained by iView which is now attracting around one million unique visitors a month. And that's where smart TV gets interesting.

Quickflix will soon take on iView with its online movie rental service which will be available on Sony TVs, and if that works it's hard to imagine Apple would be far behind. Ruslan Kogan, who has made it clear he is no fan of Apple's power, offers customers one Android based internet TV product. That will not suffice when the Christmas rush sees big name manufacturers step up their marketing of smart TV.