Report: Apple Plans iTV Launch In Canada

Apple has approached Rogers Communications and Bell Canada Enterprises to determine their interest in becoming partners for a north-of-the-border launch of the much-rumored but still unconfirmed iTV, The Globe And Mail reports.  One of the paper’s unnamed sources says that Apple wants a partner, or multiple partners, who have interests in wireless and broadband communications. Another says that the companies already have an iTV in their labs. Both companies offer video, phone, and broadband services — and also control content. Although Apple has not said that it plans to sell a TV set, it’s widely believed to be the company’s next big initiative after the late Steve Jobs told biographer Walter Isaacson that he had figured out a way to improve the consumer experience. Yesterday a Web site said that Best Buy offered survey respondents an opportunity to “be one of the first” to get a 42-inch Apple HDTV for $1,499. Jefferies & Co analyst Peter Misek also served up an in-depth look at what he thinks an Apple iTV might do based on “our checks and an analysis of Apple’s patents.”