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1 Million Apple TVs? What About a Real TV?

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Apple today told us that Steve Jobs' hobby has finally turned into a business. the hockey puck size Apple TV set top box has sold 1 million times.

Given its $99 price, this should not come as a surprise, but the question is what Apple will do with this installed base as it knows that it has now found the sweet spot for the device.

It appears that analysts are already anticipating the next stage for the device, which could be what the name of the device indicates: A real, LED TV that integrates the Apple TV box. The hardware isn't the limiting factor anymore. If Apple believes that it can bridge over to the LCD/LED TV market, then it may be just a matter of time until we are seeing a white flat screen TV with an Apple logo.

"Longer term, we believe Apple has larger ambitions in the TV market, and the new version of Apple TV is just the beginning of something much larger," wrote Ticonderoga analyst Brian White in a research note to clients. "Keep in mind, the global LCD TV market is estimated at nearly $100 billion in 2010 revenue by DisplaySearch and the U.S. TV advertising market is estimated at $70 billion by Google."

The TV space could be the next area where Google and Apple are competing much more fiercely. "In our view, Apple is one of the few companies in the world that will be able to offer consumers a broad digital media ecosystem with iTunes, iBooks and the App Store", White said. "Additionally, Apple arguably offers the most aesthetically pleasing consumer electronic products in the world. Keep in mind, the TV is at the center of living rooms around the globe, and an Apple TV would likely be a big hit, in our view."

White argued that it would be difficult for traditional LCD TV makers to compete with Apple due to the ecosystem Apple has built. If that is the case, then many TV makers would have to rely on Google's products to be able to deliver a competitive product.  

43 Comments Comment from the forums
  • xerroz 30 December 2010 23:34
    Will the sheep ever stop following Apple?
    Reply
  • power hungry 30 December 2010 23:37
    Not when they can pay 3 times the price of a regular TV for inferior hardware in a nice white case.
    Reply
  • hellwig 30 December 2010 23:53
    According to past history, an Apple TV will have a glossy finish instead of flat, so good luck watching TV with the lights on. It will have brightness and color variations across the body of the screen (like so many other Apple notebook and computer displays). It will come with an internal, non-replaceable battery that doesn't do anything except cause the TV to not work a week after your 18-month warranty runs out, and it will still only be 720P, even though you pay twice as much as a Samsung 3D-TV.
    Reply
  • thesupermedium 30 December 2010 23:53
    power hungryNot when they can pay 3 times the price of a regular TV for inferior hardware in a nice white case.Anodized Aluminum*
    Reply
  • g00fysmiley 30 December 2010 23:57
    naw thesupermedium ... that'll be the pro model and cost 5x as much >_
    Reply
  • thesupermedium 31 December 2010 00:00
    ^Lol
    Reply
  • power hungry 31 December 2010 00:19
    g00fysmileynaw thesupermedium ... that'll be the pro model and cost 5x as much >_

    It will get all scratched up as soon as anything touches it. You will need to buy a protective case.
    Reply
  • wildwell 31 December 2010 00:23
    xerrozWill the sheep ever stop following Apple?So they might sell a million of something else you don't want. Shop with your feet and use whatever TV you want. I'm sure most everybody here is a brand whore of something overpriced whether they admit it or not... cars, computers, coffee, etc. That's why navigating Tom's is like navigating a mine field of pop-up ads, everyone here is a consumer.
    Reply
  • wolfram23 31 December 2010 00:36
    My brother in law bought one, and showed it to me just a couple days ago. I have to say Apple TV is actually retardedly awesome. He pulled up a video on his iPad, then hit a button and suddenly we're watching it on TV. Then he opened up his music and sent some songs to his Airport Express playing the music on a boom box. Then we browsed pictures on his iPad, which he then also sent to the TV. I was extremely impressed, and I don't like Apple because I think it's a ripoff. But Apple TV is actually a really really good technology.

    Lots of the above posters clearly don't know what they're talking about. Apple TV is NOT A TV. It's a small box with HDMI output that connects to your TV and WiFi, and it's only $120 CAD.
    Reply
  • tipoo 31 December 2010 00:49
    I've always been of the opinion that TV makers should just focus on making the pixels pretty and having lots of connections. The more stuff they integrate into it, the more can go wrong. Say if the Apple TV component breaks but the rest of the set is fine, you would have to send the whole thing in for repair.
    Reply