Android dominates the smartphone market, but it's noticeable that the gui on the successful ones isn't from Google. The hand set makers replace Google's plain offering with their own, and the makers that don't, don't sell.
IMHO, Google has a design problem. When you see them try to add a splash of design, it is just that, a but of colour added on as an after thought.
Google TV is one of those products that would be better if OEM's designed it.
Logitech dropped a bombshell last week when it said that its Google TV-powered Revue set-top box was not performing well, which is a bit of an understatement. Sales were so bad that the company’s acting CEO Guerrino De Luca said on its earnings call that he had decided to slash the Revue’s price from $249 to $99.99, which comes a couple of months after the price was reduced from $299.
In an e-mail to Engadget, Logitech confirmed that the price was officially dropped starting yesterday, and its Website already reflects the dramatic price reduction. Whether that actually spurs sales is another thing, as the Revue has pretty much become an afterthought among consumers considering an Apple TV or Roku box instead. Logitech claims that the Version 2 update, due later in the summer, will be automatically added to the Revue and feature a simplified UI and access to the Android Market.
In its note to the tech site, the company also wanted to clarify its statement that “returns for Logitech Revue were greater than sales.” It was not referring to the number of devices returned by consumers post-purchase; instead it was referring to returns by its distributors and retailers. I’m not so sure how this is a much better thing for Logitech; even if that means people aren’t all returning the thing after buying it, it does mean that demand is so weak that its retail partners have given up expecting the Revue to fly off the shelves.
Either way, it’s another blow to Google TV, which promises big improvements in its next iteration, but may already have blown its chance for home theater domination. Does it still have a chance if devices running the platform are priced more in line with Apple TV and its ilk? Let us know your thoughts in the Comments section.
