Is your television a furniture or an electronic toy?

I would say furniture. Why? Because when people buy it, it is more often from an aesthetic interior design point of view than anything else. From the wall location to the corner of the  room where it will fit, it is pre- planned to enhance the look and feel of the room. Many a turf war fight between a man and woman have been fought on the location of the TV in a room.

And then you buy it. The latest LED+ 3D 200 inch monster in the market ( no there aren’t any like that, but just felt like saying). THe pride of your room ultimately stands there with a sea of cables weaving in and out of it. Cables for the home theatre + cables from the set top box + cables for the DTH cabling + cables for the electrical main., cables from the extension chords…

Fucking ugly. ( <tangent>- we need a wireless world)

IKEA gets it. Ikea understands that furniture need to enhance the look of a room through design. Not just provide utility. As a long standing buyer of Ikea products, because of their cheapness and design acumen, I can vouch for their excellence in maximizing space. 

So when IKEA decides to get into the HDTV space and launches their own HDTV model titled Uppleva, you go…hmmm very Swedish. But there is more to this TV than being Swedish. 

Ikea’s pitch with the Uppleva is that it is a critical element of your living room and part of your furniture arrangement and design pattern than just another electronic toy. Their pitch is around user interfaces and around integrating the entire home television Eco -system ( and their cables) with the furniture flow of the room.

And the pitch works.

Now given their pedigree, if their OEMs and supply chain fire in , I don’t see why they can’t start making a serious claim to own your living room.

And I bet you that living room will look good. 

This Uppleva is going to sell some. Serious. And they have got the TV retailers by the balls. I cannot imagine TV makers ( read Sony/ LG/ Samsung ) suddenly entering the furniture zone, which controls the decision making on the TV buying process.