Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Announces 1 Million Apple TV Units Sold

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) announced it is on pace to sell its 1 millionth unit after launching the product in September.

Ticonderoga noted, "This morning, Apple announced expectations to reach the sale of 1 million new Apple TV units this week. Recall, Apple TV just went on sale in the U.S. in late September. Reaching 1 million units in just under three months is clearly an accomplishment, in our view, and a testament to Apple's ever-growing mind share with consumers across the company's ever-expanding portfolio. In our view, the biggest competitor to Apple TV will be Google TV; however, the overall consumer reception to Google TV has been chilly, at best. In fact, a recent New York Times article indicated that Google (Nasdaq:GOOG)(NR) has told leading consumer OEMs to cancel announcements surrounding Google TV at the January Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in an effort to buy time to further refine the software.

"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. 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. 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."

Ticonderoga maintains a "Buy" on Apple, which closed Tuesday at $324.20, up $1.99, or 0.62 percent. They have a price target on Apple of $450.