Premium provider of personal computer and tablet accessories, Logitech International SALOGI has recently launched Logitech ConferenceCam Kit in collaboration with Intel Corp.’s INTC NUC video conferencing system. Priced at $1599, the Logitech ConferenceCam Kit will be commercially available starting
Alphabet ‘s ( GOOGL ) Google Chromecast widened its lead in the digital media streamer market last year over devices from Apple ( AAPL ), Amazon.com ( AMZN ) and Roku. Google’s low-cost HDMI dongle for streaming Internet video to television sets grabbed 35% of the market in 2015, up from 28% in 2014, Strategy Analytics reported Tuesday. Apple TV ranked second with a 20% market share, down from 22% in 2014. Amazon Fire TV and Roku tied for third, each with a 15% market share. “Google’s puck-sized Chromecast dongle continues to have broad appeal with consumers who favor its mobile-centric approach to content access and control,” Strategy Analytics analyst David Watkins said in a statement . “The device’s portability and low price at just $35 has made it an impulse purchase for many and household ownership of multiple Chromecasts is not uncommon.” Based on cumulative shipments of digital media streamers, Apple leads the market with nearly 37 million Apple TV units sold since its launch in 2007. Chromecast is catching up fast with 27 million units sold in just 2.5-years. Roku’s Box and Streaming Stick products are third with 20 million units, followed by Amazon Fire TV with less than 10 million. Amazon, Apple, Google and Roku accounted for 85% of the 42 million digital streaming devices sold last year. But dedicated streaming media boxes and dongles accounted for 19% of the overall connected TV device market in 2015. All told, 220 million connected TV devices shipped last year, including smart TVs, Blu-ray Disc players, game consoles and streaming boxes, Strategy Analytics said. Smart TVs accounted for 54% of connected TV device shipments in 2015, reaching 120 million units, the research firm said. Samsung, LG and Sony ( SNE ) have a combined 50% share of the smart-TV market. “Our research shows that U.S. broadband homes own an average of 2.3 such devices giving them multiple means by which to stream video and audio content to the TV,” Strategy Analytics analyst Chirag Upadhyay said. “While some consumers will have a favored method, we find that most households are switching between different devices depending on the user and type of content being consumed.” Consumers increasingly are choosing to watch Internet TV services such as Netflix ( NFLX ), Hulu and YouTube.
Semiconductor stocks are broadly down as major stock market indexes slip. Even top-rated chipmakers gave back gains in Tuesday afternoon trading. Some are near buy points, with the overall market still in a confirmed uptrend — but touchy amid weak China trade news and other economic concerns. In context, the profit-taking in chip stocks follows their 20% rally off February lows. Macom Technology ( MTSI ), an IBD Leaderboard stock and one of many Apple ( AAPL ) suppliers, was down 4% in afternoon trading in the stock market today , putting it just below buy range from a double-bottom base with a buy point of 41.42. Macom makes radio frequency chips for networks and cellular systems, among other things. It’s still up 8% this month. Broadcom ( AVGO ) gapped up Friday after its strong earnings report , and the IBD 50 stock is now logging a second day easing from that jump. It’s in buy range above a 138.79 buy point from a double-bottom base. Broadcom, recently merged with Avago Technologies, sells a broad range of analog and digital chip solutions. And it’s another supplier to Apple, which has an expected iPhone SE reveal event March 21 . Cirrus Logic ( CRUS ), a fabless chip supplier and yet another vendor to Apple, is trading about 9% under a potential buy point from a nine-month consolidation pattern, after its 4.5% drop intraday Tuesday. Mellanox Technologies ( MLNX ) was down almost 1% in afternoon trading, in buy range from a cup-with-handle base. The Apple supplier has given back early-March gains the last four days, after gapping up sharply in late February. Mellanox sells high-performance, end-to-end interconnect solutions for data center servers and storage systems. Nvidia ( NVDA ), down a little over 1% Tuesday and now about 6% under a buy point, is a maker of graphics chips used in gaming and with a growing specialty helping to power self-driving cars and advanced car safety systems. The IBD 50 company is a partner to electric car maker Tesla Motors ( TSLA ), among many other auto manufacturers, with its technology going into Tesla’s big-screen infotainment consoles. Chip Stock Charts As the market has recovered, many chipmakers have moved above their key 50-day moving averages. In this video, we cover how some top-ranked semiconductor stocks opened the week, through Monday’s closing bell: Loading the player… IBD’s Electronics-Semiconductor Manufacturing industry group was down 2% intraday Tuesday, while the S&P 500 index was off nearly 1%. RELATED: Samsung Galaxy S7: Qualcomm, Qorvo Displace Cirrus Logic, Broadcom