Roku, which launched its first Internet streaming player in 2008, has held its ground amid the competitive pressure. In 2014, Roku was the leading streaming-device brand with 29% market share of U.S. sales, followed by the Google Chromecast USB-size adapter at 20% and Apple TV at 17%, according to research firm Parks Associates. Amazon Fire TV was in fourth place with 10% share.
Last September Roku said it had sold 10 million players in the U.S.; it also sells products in the U.K., Ireland and Canada.
Roku’s enhanced search function lets users search for movies, TV shows, actors and directors — across some 250,000 movies and TV episodes — and see results listed by price from top streaming channels. Roku owners now also can search by channel name, spanning 2,000-plus streaming channels available on the platform. Those include Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, HBO Go, YouTube, Vudu and M-Go.
From the article "Roku Adds Voice Search, Enhances ‘Unbiased’ Movie and TV Search Tools" by Todd Spangler.
