Apple TV sales top 1 million

Apple announced today that sales of Apple TV are expected to top 1 million units this week. The significantly smaller, significantly less expensive Apple TV was introduced at Apple's annual iPod and iTunes event in September and released around the end of that month. With a focus on rental rather than purchase, streaming rather than sync, Hollywood rather than "amateur hour" and Netflix as well as iTunes, Apple's PR on the subject provides some interesting stats but strangely, no quotes from Apple execs:

iTunes users are now renting and purchasing over 400,000 TV episodes and over 150,000 movies per day.

While it took longer than iPhone 4 or iPad to reach the 1 million mark, is this any indication Apple TV might be poised to move beyond "hobby" status? Or will that still take Hulu, HBO, and major league sports deals?

[Apple PR]

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.