1M Apple TV sales confirmed; Logitech denies it was asked to halt Google TV shipments
Apple TV sales
Apple confirmed the milestone to John Paczkowski of All Things Digital on Monday. The Cupertino, Calif., company had revealed last Tuesday that it expected sales of the $99 cloud-centric Apple TV to exceed 1 million in advance of Christmas and within three months of the product's launch.
Analysts viewed the news as positive, but noted that the additional revenue from the device was "fairly immaterial." 1 million units per quarter would amount to $400 million in annual revenue, said analyst Shaw Wu of Kaufman Bros. On the upside, Wu believes the Apple TV is set up to become "a more material contributor and game changer in the TV space," especially if Apple introduces an App Store that allows users to download applications for the Apple TV.
The Apple TV's previous milestone was 250,000 units in October after six weeks of availability. During the company's October earnings call, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs commented that Apple was "thrilled" with sales of the device.
Google TV
A DigiTimes report last week alleged that Logitech had halted shipments of its Revue Google TV set top box while Google readied an update to the software. On Monday, Barron's reported that it had received a vaguely worded email from a Logitech VP denying that Google had asked Logitech to halt production of the Revue.
"Logitech has not been asked by Google to suspend production of its Google TV products. As those familiar with the product know, it is not necessary for Logitech to make changes to the Logitech Revue with Google TV companion box to accommodate future enhancements to Google TV. Every Logitech Revue companion box will receive free over-the-air updates whenever Google and Logitech release software enhancements," wrote Nancy Morrison, Logitech's VP of corporate communications.
"Logitech is currently meeting the inventory needs of its retail customers, continuing to ship products on schedule to meet their holiday and post-holiday demand."
"Logitech does not discuss the specific production plans for any of its products. As high-volume manufacturer of electronic products, Logitechâs use of its own factories as well as those of its manufacturing partners, provides the company with flexibility in how and when it produces products to accommodate customer demand."
Though a subtle distinction, Morrison did not actually deny that Logitech had halted production of the Google TV device, simply that Google had not requested it. Morrison asserted that Logitech is meeting the needs of its retail customers, but it is unclear what exactly those "needs" are.
Technology journalist Wall Mossberg recently named Google TV as his second-worst reviewed product of 2010, behind only the Dell Streak. In his original review of the platform, Mossberg called Google TV "too complicated."
Manufacturers named in a report by The New York Times last week have yet to deny the claim that Google asked it to delay introducing new Google TV-enabled televisions.
24 Comments
I would suppose Apple would sell a million of anything it offered based on the fanaticism of some of its devotees. The magic mouse probably also sold 1 million units in the same amount of time. Hardly newsworthy.
Now if it sold 1 million units of Apple TVs to non-Apple owners- that would be news.
I would suppose Apple would sell a million of anything it offered based on the fanaticism of some of its devotees. The magic mouse probably also sold 1 million units in the same amount of time. Hardly newsworthy.
Now if it sold 1 million units of Apple TVs to non-Apple owners- that would be news.
What a ridiculous thing to say. A million apple tv units in a quarter is always a very impressive number. Apple "fans" are not zombies mandated by Cupertino, you know, and it certainly is selling a lot better than the last incarnation of the device.
Grow up and say something worthwile, can you?
What a ridiculous thing to say. A million apple tv units in a quarter is always a very impressive number. Apple "fans" are not zombies mandated by Cupertino, you know, and it certainly is selling a lot better than the last incarnation of the device.
Grow up and say something worthwile, can you?
There's really no point feeding this troll. By simply looking at his prior postings, it's pretty evident that he has an alternate agenda. His style is reminiscent of another banned troll.
That being said, It's really a good sign for ATV considering how difficult the TV area is. I'm sure Apple has something up its sleeve to really hit the ball out of the park on this. Unlike Google, Apple does have more of a relationship with the entertainment industry and networks. For what it's worth, the media executives know more about Apple's motives than they do Google.
whatever the ATV is, a hobby of SJ, or just a product to have out there.... i can't wait to see how it does when they actually focus on it
on that note, i bet most of the sales are because no one wanted to pay the $300 i think i have heard for an old ATV.
can't wait to see it when "its a real product"
The article mentions that Logitech never denied that they have halted shipments of the Revue. And the Logitech manager also carefully avoided mentioning the specific number of units shipped. Seems like Logitech is taking a page from RIM's playbook (pun intended!). RIM has stopped mentioning the number of new BlackBerry subscribers each quarter.
I can't wait until CES, just to see if HDTV manufacturers will actually show off any TV sets with embedded Google TV. There is a rumor that Google has told them to not show their prototypes. Too bad for them, great for Apple. If true, I suspect the reason is that once again, Google has rushed out a product in beta form. Unpolished clunky interface, not enough deals with content providers, and the real killer: a catastrophic mash-up of internet complexity and TV simplicity.
Apple benefits hugely from CES despite not having a booth there. Each and every smart phone, pad computer, media player, laptop, netbook, and now internet TV set-top box will be compared to an Apple product. Free publicity for Apple all day, every day, live from CES.