Apple TV refresh takes the device from a hobby to a major player

When Apple released the original Apple TV, Jobs joked that this was more a Hobby than anything serious. Well since the release of the refreshed 1080p Apple TV no one can call the device a hobby anymore.

Since the release of the refreshed 1080p Apple TV has doubled sales of in the first 5 months of availability,  as Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook revealed on Tuesday  2.7 million units of the set-top box have been sold already in 2012.

Throughout 2011, the total sale was a mere 2.8 million devices in the 12-month span, however you need to remember that the Apple TV at that times hadn’t yet received an update.

Yesterday during the D10, Cook stated that many people still are not satisfied with what is available on the television market,however when pressed by journalist Walt Mossberg about whether Apple plans to release a full-fledged television set, as it is rumored to do, Cook didn’t want to discuss any future planes.

However Cook did comment that customer response and sales in 2012 have been “incredible” and “off the charts,” furthermore he did hint at the future by saying “We’re going to keep pulling the string and see where it takes us.”

What do you think, will Apple release a full-fledged TV set or will the Apple TV remain in its current form?