“As rumors of an Apple-branded television set begin to die down, the company’s extant living room foray — the Apple TV set-top box — is quietly posting strong sales and impressive growth, new NPD data shared with AppleInsider reveals,” Shane Cole reports for AppleInsider.
“Apple TV and rival Roku system together dominate the third party set-top box market with approximately 80 percent between them, according to data from consumer research firm NPD,” Cole reports. “The market for streaming accessories is growing quickly, with sales up more than 30 percent on a unit basis over the last twelve months. Apple’s ‘hobby’ has posted a 23 percent gain over the same period.”
“Since its release, the Apple TV has become an essential part of many families’ entertainment workflows. Where a Mac mini may have once done duty under the television as a dedicated home theater device or a MacBook Pro may have become the center of attention while positioned on a footstool, a single click can now beam audio and video seamlessly and without wires from nearly any Apple device to the Apple TV and from there to a large HDTV display,” Cole reports. “Even an iPod touch, when paired with an Apple TV, can become a capable home media center.”
Read more in the full article here.