But time is a tricky metric. Consider a damning Parks Associates estimate made in June that found a declining percentage in the number of Chromecast users using the device at least once a month. Google responded the following month at its I/O conference with a different data point suggesting the total number of minutes Chromecast is being used shot up 40% from last year.

Both points could be true: While the overall number of Chromecast buyers are using it less, the core user base is more engaged than ever.

Parks also issued a worrisome indicator for Chromecast in June that Q1 sales of Chromecast had remained flat from the two previous quarters, with just 6% of U.S. broadband households buying Chromecast. That figure held steady even as the usage of streaming media players overall is on the rise.

Moreover, Parks estimated in July that Google sold 3.8 million Chromecast units over the previous 12 months worldwide, on par with how many units Roku sold in all of 2013. Apple TV sold just over 2 million last year. Chromecast is available in 19 countries as of July, significantly more than Roku, which is just in four countries, while Apple TV is in far more than both competitors combined.

From the article "The race too early to call: Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast" by Andrew Wallenstein.

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