Apple TV Set for Prime Time

After an initial delay, Apple TV finally may be on the way.

Many AppleAAPL customers report that their credit cards are finally being charged for the product, a sign that the company just might meet its deadline of "mid-March."

Apple had indicated that TV orders would likely ship on March 20.

Though Apple TV has been overshadowed by the iPhone, which was also unveiled at Macworld at the beginning of 2007, the set-top box could offer a significant boost to the company's fortunes.

Shares of Apple were off 43 cents, or 0.4%, to $89.57 Thursday afternoon.

In its first year, Apple TV could add, at a minimum, $50 million to $75 million in profit, or $150 million in revenue, says Chris Crotty, senior analyst for consumer electronics at research firm iSuppli.

"They are selling it at $299, and in the first year if they sell half a million units, at a 50% margin they could make up to $75 million," he says.

Others analysts such as Deutsche Bank's Chris Whitmore had estimated that the worldwide addressable market for Apple could be as large as $26 billion in 2007.

Whitmore predicts that Apple could sell as many as 2 million units this year and that incremental revenue at a 3% penetration of the addressable market could total $600 million. Deutsche Bank owns Apple shares and makes a market in them.