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Sean Portnoy
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Logitech to cut Revue price to $249. Another sign Google TV = Fail?

By | April 29, 2011, 6:20am PDT

Summary: While Apple seems to be having some success with its latest iteration of its Apple TV product, things aren’t as rosy with Google TV. The latest sign that’s something amiss: Logitech is planning to cut the price of its Revue set-top box featuring Google’s entertainment platform to $249 starting next month. Why the price slash? It’s [...]

While Apple seems to be having some success with its latest iteration of its Apple TV product, things aren’t as rosy with Google TV. The latest sign that’s something amiss: Logitech is planning to cut the price of its Revue set-top box featuring Google’s entertainment platform to $249 starting next month.

Why the price slash? It’s not because sales are great. While Logitech had expected fourth-quarter 2010 sales of $18 million related to Google TV, its earning statement showed that it only achieved $5 million in Revue sales — and that inventory has swelled by 28 percent. Thus far, the Revue and Sony’s Internet TV box are the best-known Google TV units, though other manufacturers have stated they have plans for Google TV devices.

Google TV has suffered from technical issues, content blocking from TV networks, and an unfriendly UI. The tech giant hopes to jump-start the platform by adding the Android Market to Google TV next month around the time of the Google I/O conference. It also would certainly help things if prices for the devices dropped — a lot.

Unfortunately for Google TV device makers, consumers may have a better experience buying an Android tablet and beaming its video apps to a connected TV, and surfing the Web on a screen that sits right on their lap.

How can Google TV be saved? Let everyone know your ideas in the Comments section.

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Topics

Google Inc., Logitech, Apple Inc., Google TV, TVs, Tv & Home Theater, Personal Technology, Home Entertainment, Sean Portnoy

Sean Portnoy is a freelance technology journalist.

Disclosure

Sean Portnoy

Sean Portnoy is a freelance technology journalist; currently, all work that Sean does is on a contractural basis. Sean has also written corporate communications documents for CA.

Sean does not accept gifts from companies he covers. All hardware products he writes about are purchased with his own funds or are review units covered under formal loan agreements and are returned after the review is complete.

Biography

Sean Portnoy

Sean Portnoy started his tech writing career at ZDNet nearly a decade ago. He then spent several years as an editor at Computer Shopper magazine, most recently serving as online executive editor. He received a B.A. from Brown University and an M.A. from the University of Southern California.

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RE: Logitech to cut Revue price to $249. Another sign Google TV = Fail?
Socratesfoot 2nd May 2011
@browser. Google understand the consumer fine. But to make the OS/Web TV thing work they need to change the browser to no longer identify itself to Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix as anything but a Linux based PC browser. Right now Google doesn't have the desire/sack size to try it. But eventually someone will figure out that, "Hey, a browser is a browser, and my phone is no different than a web enabled computer ...why can I do this on my PC and not my smart phone?"
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RE: Logitech to cut Revue price to $249. Another sign Google TV = Fail?
browser. Updated - 29th Apr 2011
Yep. Google cannot understand consumer. They are best doing search and adwords
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RE: Logitech to cut Revue price to $249. Another sign Google TV = Fail?
Socratesfoot 2nd May 2011
@browser. Google understand the consumer fine. But to make the OS/Web TV thing work they need to change the browser to no longer identify itself to Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix as anything but a Linux based PC browser. Right now Google doesn't have the desire/sack size to try it. But eventually someone will figure out that, "Hey, a browser is a browser, and my phone is no different than a web enabled computer ...why can I do this on my PC and not my smart phone?"
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Some Sucess?
Hasam1991 29th Apr 2011
Over 1 million Apple TVs sold... you call that some success? I'm proud owner of 2 happy makes everyone go wow, how do you access all your stuff on your LCD??!
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Actually, few millions sold already
DeRSSS 29th Apr 2011
@Hasam1991
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According to last Apple report
dazzlingd Updated - 29th Apr 2011
@denisrs
2 Million up to last quarter.
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RE: Logitech to cut Revue price to $249. Another sign Google TV = Fail?
omdguy 29th Apr 2011
@denisrs

No surprise watching the 2 of you loving one another publicly.

Anyone buying Apple TV are idiots when for another $100 you can get a world class gaming platform in the XBOX 260 that does everything Apple TV can do without the iTunes tax which is garbage software.

I suppose the people that go "wow" are saying "wow, you paid for this"!
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It has a mouse cursor
guihombre 29th Apr 2011
I mean FFS, they put a mouse cursor on it, connected to a little scroll wheel thingy.

At some point you've gotta call the designer a frikkin idiot.
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RE: Logitech to cut Revue price to $249. Another sign Google TV = Fail?
Droid101 29th Apr 2011
It wasn't really marketed correctly. It does so much more than AppleTV, so even you don't understand it since you're comparing the two.
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Yeah, but does it do anything anyone wants?
matthew_maurice 29th Apr 2011
@Droid101 I never understood the attaction of GoogleTV. With AppleTv you know what it is, iTunes media to your TV. GoogleTV is some kind of pan-media search device that let's you Tweet in your living room while finding YouTube videos or broadcast/cable TV shows? Not exactly an barn-burning idea.
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As an owner of both the first and second generation Apple TV units
kenosha77a 29th Apr 2011
@matthew_maurice

I never viewed the primary function of the Apple TV as a device to aid viewing downloaded commercial video content but as a bridge device that wirelessly streams any digital content from any Apple device to the home HDTV set.
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RE: Logitech to cut Revue price to $249. Another sign Google TV = Fail?
Rama.NET 29th Apr 2011
Well, Microsoft tried the same with WebTV more than decade back without success. Later Sony tried and couldn't get to near of the consumers. Apple is still trying with little better results, but not that much. Now Google came and will eventually pull the plugs one more time. I think Consoles like XBox, PS, Wii will do more than Google TV anytime, so why would people really get into Google TV. If they want information at hand, Tablets like iPad, G-Slate, Xoom etc., smart phones are there and for everything PCs are there, what additional stuff Google TV would bring other than integrated search, YouTube etc to the platform. For that I could just plug my TV as external monitor to PC.
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On the right track, but needs more.
jefflouella 29th Apr 2011
The Logitech is on the right path. I want my cable box to go through one of these devices so I can layer apps on top of the picture. I think this would be awesome for sports with realtime data. I don't want to have to switch my TV to Video 1 for Cable and Video 2 for PS3 and Video 3 for Logitech. I want it all controlled through the device. So Logitech is close, but Google still needs to focus more on the experience.
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The future is built-in
jeffchapmanjc 29th Apr 2011
The future of the connected TV is a built-in OS which allows access to everything today's Roku device does and receives quarterly updates/bug fixes - much like any connected device today does. That built-in OS doesn't need to have any brand on it either. As long as you can access your content in a relatively intuitive manner, consumers will buy it and use it.

These current set-top boxes are only a stepping stone to this future and will likely disappear once the transition has been made. We really don't need to pay too much attention to market trends on which device offers better value. It simply won't matter in a couple of years.
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RE: Logitech to cut Revue price to $249. Another sign Google TV = Fail?
dave95. 29th Apr 2011
"Unfortunately for Google TV device makers, consumers may have a better experience buying an Android tablet and beaming its video apps to a connected TV, and surfing the Web on a screen that sits right on their lap."

This is the very issue I saw with GTV from the start and the reason I called the whole approach backwards. With tablets and smart phones rising in popularity, they should have put the focus on these devices we have now instead of having consumers fumbling with yet another expensive complex box for the living room. With fugly UI, PC keyboard and giant remote pointer. The first time I used this Logitec device at Best Buy I laughed out loud. Is this the future of TV, a large PC-like pointer remote for navigation at a time when we are getting used to multi-touch? Felt like 1990's again with WebTV. What a joke!

http://www.zdnet.com/tb/1-88768-1682981?tag=talkback-river;1_88768_1682981
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RE: Logitech to cut Revue price to $249. Another sign Google TV = Fail?
srikanthreddys 29th Apr 2011
Future is all about clubbing - Android with Google TV and Chrome OS which is what I am looking forward to in the Google I/O this year.
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Wrong Paradigm
johnelberling@... 29th Apr 2011
Google thought search = channels. wrong. search is extra work.

Apple gets apps = channels. just buy the few you want, and they give your much more stuff than CATV can.

but no doubt Google will copy Apple soon. they always do.

yeah, built into the TV is best. so Apple is licensing AirPlay. but what HDTV OEM's will use it? i bet Vizio is first.
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Since this is ZDNet's "Let's Bash Google and Android" week consider this
kenosha77a Updated - 29th Apr 2011
The iPad app, HBO Go, just went live tonight. (And, as I'm typing this on my iMac, I'm watching a streamed "MacGruber" movie on my iPad2.)

I mention this because this seems to be another nail in the coffin of Google TV.

If you have a tablet, why not watch streamed cable content when you want to on your tablet. (I'm sure other apps along the lines of HBO Go will be shortly introduced.)

BTW, if you don't have a tablet, just watch HBO Go on your computer screen.
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the pipes are clogged
redking44 30th Apr 2011
in USA internet TV hsa to be a fail whoever doe it. My internet is supposedly 14Mbps - fast enough for practically anything you'd think.

if I actually try to use it I hit the cap and download speed drops to a crawl - inadequate for even watching any videos

How much fun is it to watch :buffering" instead of TV?
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Basic design flaws
terry flores Updated - 30th Apr 2011
These things continued to be designed by geeks who LIKE playing with devices, rather than by user experience designers who understand it's all about the content, and the device is a means, not an amusement in itself.

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