Posted by The Blogging Desk on Mon, Nov 29, 2010
Techcrunch:
Google TV might be in a bit of a pickle if a Best Buy and Sony sale is any indication. The platform launched a few weeks ago with the Logitech Revue and Sony Internet TV. Both are loaded with the same system and so both are suffering the fate of Big Media’s blockade. It’s a sad story, really. Google TV aimed to bridge the span between subscription-based TV and Internet content, but so far said bridge is still held up bybureaucratic red tape nonsense.
Sony seems to be solving one of the platform’s biggest deal breakers: the price. Google TV units are crazy expensive. The Logitech Revue launched at $300 and that price is still holding strong even at retailers like Amazon amidst nearly site-wide Black Friday sales. It’s the Sony set-top box model that’s uncharacteristically on sale right now even though it’s less than a month old. This doesn’t look so well for Google’s living room takeover plans.
Say it ain't so, Google TV!
For those that may have missed some stunning articles on the topic, Google TV piggy-backs onto your cable subscription and offers you a browser to view online videos and also play apps. There was one tiny problem in all of that. The networks didn't want you watching their free online content using a Google TV.
Viacom recently joined ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox as the networks that refuse to have their content viewed for free via the Google TV browser. Oops! Maybe Google should have contacted these groups before selling their product as the ultimate video viewer. Sounds like they need some work on their strategy.
So what do these price-drops mean? Is this the end of the Google TV?
I do love me some innovation, but it most likely is indeed the end of Google TV in its current form. If anything, the product will serve as an Android OS for cable providers. Before Android and iOS, most phones sold had clunky operating systems. Heck, most ran Windows Mobile. Now, carriers can throw Android on their phones for pretty much no cost. I expect the same to happen with carrier set-top boxes.
Just don't expect the innovation that Google was hoping for.
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Posted by The Blogging Desk on Thu, Oct 07, 2010
Press Release:
Logitech today unveiled Logitech Revue™ with Google TV™, a compact, plug-and-play companion box with its Logitech® Keyboard Controller, which together provide seamless control over the Google TV experience and home-entertainment devices. The company's portfolio of products for Google TV also includes the Logitech® TV Cam and Vid™ HD service for HD video calling from the comfort of one's sofa. In addition, Logitech is offering the Logitech® Mini Controller for Logitech Revue as well as other applications designed for the Google TV platform.
"Just as we have done with the PC and with home entertainment systems, our role with Google TV is to give people the ability to control and interact with their content and devices with unprecedented ease," said Gerald P. Quindlen, Logitech president and chief executive officer. "With our line of products for Google TV, Logitech will help redefine the user experience in the digital living room."
Yesterday was a big day for the Google and Logitech. Not sure if it was a big day for IT Support fellas that help Philadelphia area companies, but still, big. So, in short, Google TV can connect to your cable box, and give you access to the internets, as well as your cable channels in a neat UI package. You also get a keyboard (!) to use in order to navigate. If you have an iPhone or an Android phone, you can use that as well.
My question is, who wants the web on their TV? Moreover, who wants to use a keyboard to use their TV? The answer to that question is "not me", obviously.
Several of my nerd friends have hooked up cheap computers to their TV's so that they can access Hulu, Netflix, and illegally download movies and TV shows. The key word there was "nerd". Is the general public going to want to traverse the web on their television using a keyboard? Generally, when I wonder if something is a quality product, I wonder if my mother could use it. There is no way in heck my mother would be able to use a Google TV. The second I put that keyboard in front of her, I would be slapped in the face with it.
Also, the box is $299. It's main competition is the $99 AppleTV, and you cannot browse the web, play games, or watch any web-based video content. Unless you have an iPhone or an iPad, that is.
All I'm saying, is that the controller that comes with the Apple TV has 2 buttons and a directional pad.
You're welcome, mom.
Posted by The Blogging Desk on Tue, Sep 07, 2010
GoogleTV will not be my savior. But it could be cool.
Today it was announced from Eric Schmidt that GoogleTV would be coming out this fall. Videos circulating online shows a beta tester running through the menus of what looks to be a test GoogleTV unit. It attaches to your already existing cable box to give a better cable viewing experience. Not only that, but you will be able to browse the web in it's entirety.
Several of the features are very slick. The main feature, allows you to search for any show or movie, say, Bones. When you type that in you'll get search results from your cable provider and also from the internet of various places you're able to watch. Netflix, Hulu, and also FiOS, for instance. The results all show up in a very clean manner so that it's almost indecipherable that you're getting results from other places.
You could say that it looks like a full featured AppleTV, but with a cable subscription. That's a negative in my book. Certain providers are going to have this Google Experience built-in to the box, so you won't need another one. You will, however, be able to buy one separately.
Let's just hope this isn't another Google Buzz, Wave, or Shopper. Am I right, folks?