Column: Why Apple can't save the smart TV

Another year, another disappointment for anyone expecting an Apple television set.

 In his 2011 biography, Steve Jobs claimed that he had "cracked" the concept of an integrated TV, and since then we’ve had plenty of rumors -- but little else. We may as well be waiting for Godot.

There was reason to hope. Consumers have spent the last few years in a purgatory of dongles, set-top boxes, and half-baked "smart" TVs.

Manufacturers have watched as "second screens" grabbed everyone’s attention, and then grabbed their wallets. The world has gone mobile and content has migrated to the cloud, while televisions still struggle to work with either medium.

If any company could solve the Gordian knot, it would be Apple.