Apple's not the only company that may be looking at reinventing the television. Ikea has announced it will sell a clutter free all-in-one TV bench. The furniture will come with an HD LED Smart TV, 2.1 sound system and a DVD/Blu-ray player. It is called the Uppleva which means 'experience' in Swedish.
Ikea said: "Uppleva brings beauty and functionality to the living room, solving the problem of cable clutter and miss-match between TV and furniture."
Once the Uppleva is put together no wires are visible and all the components are controlled by a single remote. The subwoofer is wireless so can be placed anywhere in the room and the TV will come in a range of sizes with Wi-Fi connectivity, two USB ports and four HDMI ports.
The firm said that the Uppleva will be available in different varieties and colours and go on sale in June in selected European countries. Unfortunately the UK hasn’t been selected and looks like it won't be available in Blighty until 2013.
Ikea has put together the following video to show off and explain the Uppleva TV bench.
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Comments received
MACACTIVE2 said on Thu, 19 Apr 2012
YUM, I CAN'T WAIT TO PUT THAT IN MY LOUNGE. I'M SURE APPLE WILL SLEEP SOUNDLY! SOLD AS WIRELESS BUT THE TV HAS 2 USB and 5 HDMI EXTERNAL PORTS. STILL WIRELESS? THINK DIFFERENT? THINK NOT!
thehellhecould said on Thu, 19 Apr 2012
Great idea but really too ugly for me. It just would not suit my style at all. What we need is a standardisation of hi-fi and audio-visual equipment so they will seamlessly link wirelessly and with the minimum of wiring.
Jonah said on Thu, 19 Apr 2012
It'll have some parts missing when you get it out of the box, and the instructions will be in Swengrish.
theanimaster said on Fri, 20 Apr 2012
If that person is to-scale with the TV, then that's a SUCKY size for an HD TV!
theanimaster said on Fri, 20 Apr 2012
Wow. The inputs for the 'other' stuff are in a place that'll make it look sloppy -- with MORE cables! Plus the DVD area is an eyesore. What about where to point your remote?? Most people still point their remotes at the TV screen by intuition, but I doubt they integrated the receiver into the bezel. Why not have a wifi/bluetooth remote so that's not a problem at all? The design itself has pretty hard corners -- not nice for a person with small kids... : (
theanimaster said on Fri, 20 Apr 2012
Wow. The inputs for the 'other' stuff are in a place that'll make it look sloppy -- with MORE cables! Plus the DVD area is an eyesore. What about where to point your remote?? Most people still point their remotes at the TV screen by intuition, but I doubt they integrated the receiver into the bezel. Why not have a wifi/bluetooth remote so that's not a problem at all? The design itself has pretty hard corners -- not nice for a person with small kids... : (
Mark Hattersley said on Fri, 20 Apr 2012
I think it's a good idea but still pretty ugly. Why not just build the Blu-Ray into the machine. And not sure about that integrated drawers (although I still think that's an interesting concept).
It's the same problem Apple will have though. How to get rid of the wires while still selling a device with enough functionality to get rid of the boxes. Many People will still want to attach a PS3 and/or Xbox to the television so any gains from an integrated box vanish. So what's the point?
The idea of having a TV that is also furniture seems really 1970s to me for some reason as well. Doubt if Ikea will sell many.
frere said on Mon, 23 Apr 2012
Bloder heil! This TV is sjome pleeyers in the meerkat!
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