Apple TV ships

By Colleen Taylor -- Electronic News, 3/21/2007

With typical bravado, on Tuesday consumer electronics giant Apple Inc. began shipping its Apple TV video box product, proclaiming on its Web site that "the revolution will be televised."

Apple TV, which had originally been slated for a February debut, is available both on Apple's Web site, the company's retail stores and authorized resellers.

According to the company, the device connects to a TV via an HDMI port or component video and audio ports, and uses a built-in 802.11 wireless capability to sync an iTunes library from any Mac or PC in the house. Apple TV has a 40GByte hard drive to store up to 50 hours of video, 9,000 songs, 25,000 photos, or a combination of each, and is capable of delivering high-definition 720 pixel output. The device can auto-sync content from one computer or stream content wirelessly from up to five additional computers, Apple said.

The highly anticipated video box's debut did not go unnoticed on Wall Street. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company's already high-flying stock enjoyed an even higher boost during the first half of this week, steadily climbing as the Apple TV revved up for shipment. Apple's shares opened this morning at a price of $92, up 2.6 percent from its closing number Friday afternoon.

Thanks to stellar financial results and a host of new product releases in 2007 such as the Apple TV and the even more highly hyped iPhone, Apple has certainly been enjoying a moment in the sun in recent months. Today's share price is more than 83 percent higher than the $50.16 the company shares were trading for just this past July.