Analyst: iTunes Is Bigger than Just Music

Apples iTunes could lead the company into the expanding and lucrative home entertainment market, and the company is poised to beat the competition to consumers needs, a new study indicates.

The ABI Research study found that Apple, of Cupertino, Calif., and its iTunes music service gives the company an advantage in the world of home audio and video.

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The Oyster Bay, N.Y., research firm called Apples iPod and iTunes a "Trojan Horse" in the battle for this new market.

"The battle for portable devices has already been won by iPod (unless Microsofts strategy for its Zune platform succeeds) but in the home and mobile markets, the prize is still up for grabs," Vamsi Sistla, the research director, wrote.

"iTunes could be a Trojan Horse through which Apple can enter the home market sooner than the competition," Sistla said.

Click here to read more about Apples third-quarter results.

The study suggests that the growing market for iPod accessories and the ability to download endless amounts of music, television shows and other material from iTunes will lead Apple into offering more home entertainment products.

Users, Sistla wrote, want to hear their music and television on high-end audio and visual products, and Apple is in the right place to start delivering those services.

The other advantage is combining Macintosh computers with Intel processors, which several analysts have said helped boost Apple sales in the third quarter.

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