Analyst: Apple TV Sales Remain Flat Despite Update

Not all boats float on a rising tide. That seems to be the lesson Apple is learning with its Apple TV, a device analysts say has not benefited from increased sales of the company’s other products, including iMacs and iPods and even the lowly Magic Mouse. Apple TV sales rose just 10 percent in 2009, despite an upgraded Apple TV 3.0 OS.

The minor growth was likely due to 2008 being a slow year, not because the streaming device made any inroads into a hard-to-define market, NPD Group vice president of industry analysis Steven Baker said.

Although Apple updated the Apple TV interface, added iTunes Extra and iTunes LP compatibility, plus offered Genius mixes and Internet radio, no new hardware was advanced. Instead, Apple dropped the 40GB Apple TV and discounted the 160GB model to $229.

Despite rumor Apple is considering using Apple TV as a center for a subscription service that would stream television shows, the Cupertino, Calif. company publicly remains split on the product’s importance.

“I continue to believe that it will be a hobby,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs said earlier this year. Meanwhile, the company still considers Apple TV a potential revenue-generator. “We will continue to invest there, because we believe there is something there for us in the future,” remarked Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook.

Apple is having problems with other lesser-known products, but for a reason opposite that of Apple TV: too many alternatives. Both Airport and Airport Express wireless access points have shown little change in market share. The Airport is fifth behind Linksys, Belkin, D-Link and Netgear.

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“I think the Airport is probably a little expensive compared to some of the other wireless access points that are out there,” Baker told AppleInsider. In another example of slow-moving products, Apple’s Time Machine, a consumer-oriented networked attached storage device, may be attempting a foothold in an area that the analyst described as a “miniscule marketplace.” Most NAS is business-oriented while consumers are flocking to external hard drives for additional storage.

[Via AppleInsider]

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About the author

Ed Sutherland is a veteran technology journalist who first heard of Apple when they grew on trees, Yahoo was run out of a Stanford dorm and Google was an unknown upstart. Since then, Sutherland has covered the whole technology landscape, concentrating on tracking the trends and figuring out the finances of large (and small) technology companies.

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Posted in AppleTV, News |

Steve247
Having just bought a top of the line Sony 52″ TV (Z series, 2nd best behind XBR series) and a NAS drive (Buffalo Linkstation Pro), I would love to buy (and hack) an Apple TV, but the lack of horse power to display HD at 1080 is holding me back. I’ve read that there is a piece of hardware you can install in place of the Apple TV’s wifi card, that will enable 1080, but I’ll just wait and hope for a hardware upgrade from Apple; it’s long over due.
Steve
nixtr
I am an Apple fan, but this thing is still running ancient hardware. I want to get one, but am going to hold out for the next piece of hardware, and hope it does something like netfix or run blu rays.
SP
If Apple TV had PVR capabilities, preferably dual-tuner, and Netflix/Blockbuster download capablilities, we’d buy 2 or 3 of them.
Steve
To the two commenters above: the chances of Apple adding either PVR, blu ray, or services such as Netflix or Blockbuster are slim to none. Actually I’d say there’s NO chance of them adding those features. Apple competes with all of those with their iTunes store.
Steve
Alex
I looked into buying one but, ended up buying a Western Digital WDTV and 1.5 TB hard drive for less money then an Apple TV.
Dave
If the mac mini had an HDMI port . . .
Luca
no 1080? no party.
moonfisher
I hate Apple for their deceptive marketing, snobby attitude, high prices and over all low performance in their desktops. HEY, when I can find a 3.6ghz i7 based PC for $830 that renders video faster then a $1600 imac, that says it all… Runs like a rock solid, top. The only thing remotely interesting was their iphone which was nice at first, but then that too was over rated.
Jeff
Way to keep it on-topic, moonfisher. Lay off the haterade.
I’d LOVE to see Apple throw a little more effort at the AppleTV. I
ve had one since it was released, a little 40gb, and it’s served my household well. I’d say we’ve easily watched and listened to thousands of hours of video and music. Watched high-def movies in surround sound (legally), listened to podcasts, internet radio… we use the crap out of it. I just wish there’d be a new one to upgrade to with a little more horsepower.
One quick thought on the Time Machine: i don’t think the NAS aspect is what Apple is hawking – it’s the wireless automatic backups, not just “additional storage”