Apple's AirPlay Could Be a Big Hit

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Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) Airplay audio streaming system is a technology with the potential to become a Top 10 consumer electronics product, market research firm iSuppli said on Thursday.

AirPlay is a system that streams audio, either wirelessly or over Ethernet, to third-party speaker docks, A/V receivers, speakers and more. Far from just being a way to transmit video from the iPad to the AppleTV, as Apple CEO Steve Jobs demonstrated at its special event on September 1, AirPlay spans the entire audio industry, iSuppli said.

"AirPlay represents another effort by Apple to stake a leadership position in the burgeoning connected home market," said Jordan Selburn, principal analyst, consumer electronics, for iSuppli. "The technology leverages Apple's dominant position in the MP3/PMP player market. With AirPlay, the iPad, iPod and iPhone can be the servers for a home filled with music -- and music distribution via iTunes."

As evidenced by developments at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin this month, networked audio is gaining momentum, whether in complete systems like Sonos or in general-purpose equipment such as audio-video receivers supporting open standards such as DLNA. In addition to home music libraries, Internet Radio is also driving an increasing demand for audio that can be accessed seamlessly around the home.