LAS VEGAS — There may be hope yet for the Google TV project — at least Sony hopes so as it is plugging more money into two new products running on the platform.
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Enter an updated Sony Bravia Blu-ray disc player as well as a new set-top box running the Internet-connected TV system. It is here where Sony is effectively picking up where Logitech left off. Logitech, which discontinued the Google TV-based Revue last year, had a rather sore parting of ways with Google.
But other companies besides Sony also recognize some potential with Google TV — namely LG Electronics, which debuted its own Google TV solution earlier in the day.
There has been a lot of criticism against Google TV, primarily arguing that it misses the mark and doesn’t really fulfill the revolutionary purpose that Google promised. Even with support for the Android Market, it severely lacks the multimedia apps that are so abundant on other Internet TV platforms from the likes of Samsung and Panasonic.
While those arguments are relatively justified, as a Sony Google TV owner, I really do like the system and think there is more potential here (especially for Android’s ecosystem). It works rather seamlessly with all of my other living room gadgets (i.e. cable box, gaming console, media server, anything else that connects via HDMI or USB), and it helped significantly that I got the 32-inch model after it was discounted from $799 to $499.
(Additionally, the remote for the new Sony Google TV products is far more modern and less clunky looking, although I will admit that the original remote is rather intuitive to use.)
Nevertheless, Google has a long way to go before it can truly label Google TV as revolt onary. But, with help and a boost from friends like Sony and LG, perhaps Google can dedicate more of its resources to this initiative.
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