The new Apple TV (take three, if you will) will give Apple an entry in the market for Internet-enabled living room devices, the fastest-growing major segment of Internet-connected products, according to the iSuppli research group (http://www.isuppli.com).

Shipments of Internet-enabled living room devices -- a range of products including Internet-enabled TV sets, video game consoles and set-top boxes -- are forecast to amount to more than 430 million units in 2014, up from 99.3 million in 2009, says iSuppli. At a CAGR [compound average growth rate) of 34.1% from 2009 to 2014, shipments of the digital living room devices will rise faster than those of the other high-volume Internet-access platforms. Computers and smartphones, whose shipments will grow at CAGRs of 12.1% and 22.7%, respectively, during the same period.

While Job's demonstration of the Apple TV was impressive, the device still must contend with a host of competing players, according to Jordan Selburn, principal analyst for consumer platforms at iSuppli, reports "DigiTimes (http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20100903PR202.html). The field is currently populated by Internet media players with optical drives like Blu-ray players, video game consoles like the Xbox from Microsoft and the PlayStation from Sony and standalone media players like those from Roku, Vudu, and the forthcoming Boxee Box from D-Link Corp.