Although the promised summer release window has long since passed (we’re expecting snow in DC today), Google TV 2.0 is nearly upon us. The official Google TV blog provides sample screenshots and itemizes their goals with the software reboot:
- Keep it simple
- Make it easy to find something worth watching
- Make YouTube better on TV
- Bring more apps to TV
It remains to be seen if they’ve successfully met those goals. Or, more importantly, if they’ll find customers. But as early as next week, first generation Sony Google TV hardware will begin receiving the software update – with Logitech updates arriving “soon thereafter.” Given Google’s decision to go with Android branding, including the “Market” for apps and trumpeting the (prior generation) Honeycomb OS, they should have taken the opportunity to rename the entire initiative Android TV by Google. Yet, as we stated last week when previewing Google TV 2.0, that ship has sailed.
Regarding prior generation hardware, while you can get a deal on Logitech’s Revue ($99) set-top, it ships without a compact remote and will generally clutter up your living space. On the other hand, an integrated 24″ Sony Google TV discounted to $300 might make a nice addition to a den or kitchen area. In fact, I’m considering picking up one to replace our awful Vizio widgetized television. As rough around the edges Google TV may be, it provides light years better performance than Vizio’s Yahoo Connected TV platform. But what’s next for Google TV hardware? Intel has abandoned the “smart TV” space and Google indicates “new devices on new chipsets from multiple hardware partners” will be unveiled in the “coming months”… hopefully at Roku and Apple TV pricing.
For more on Google TV 2.0, check out our brief hands on last week (aka “lipstick on a pig”) and a trio of promotional videos hosted on Engadget.
The question isn’t will it fly, rather will we ever get the update???
Everyone I know has google TV. As soon as Cartoon network, fx, dropping cable.
I don’t think the logitech keyboard clutters up the living room. It is about having a place for everything and everything in its place.
Fort, interesting. I run with a geeky crowd and very few of my peers have one. My Revue has sat unused in a basement cupboard most of 2011. Whereas the Apple TV, Roku, and Xbox 360 get plenty of use.
nick, the keyboard by itself doesn’t clutter up the living room but it’s an inefficient universal remote due to size and button placement. One of Logitech’s value added features, and it’s a big one, is the strength of it’s IR blasting capabilities and device library. But this isn’t the most intuitive way to change channels in the dark one handed. Also in regards to clutter, I was also referring to the box design (which is mostly empty space, bad heat dissipation?) and power cables, plus TV, in comparison to the sleek all-in-one Sony Google TV with much more compact keyboard remote.
This seems to be the interesting “google tv” news of the week, even though it’s not about the hardware platform.
(As far as that hardware platform goes, I think referring to the epic ‘Stevey’s Google Platforms Rant’ from a few weeks back will explain why the hardware Google TV isn’t going to fly in version 2, version 3, or whatever. They’d need Amazon or some other 3rd party to slap a layer on top to start making it interesting, no?)
And in tangential HTPC news, my beloved Plex is adding Windows client support in the new release coming in a couple of days. (Lots of other new stuff being added as well.)
I’ll be more interested in YouTube’s new initiatives once they’re closer to reality and line up with a site redesign. Having said that, you know Google TV is going to be a or THE prime platform for the new premium channels. It’s an exciting time, for sure.
“It’s an exciting time, for sure.”
Indeed. The new Plex release has lots of stuff I’ve been anxiously waiting for.
(And in case anyone wonders why Google TV doesn’t fly, hover, or even glide, here’s a direct link to the Google Platform Rant, which explains matters quite well.)
Seems like Boxee has covered most of this ground already. All except the cable/OTA passthrough integration.
Boxee doesn’t have the breadth of content applications Google TV (will have). But it beats Google TV for local media playback and the D-Link hardware has a ton more style than the Revue with a more practical remote/keyboard. Boxee’s CEO Avner Ronen alluded to me that DVR capabilities might be in the works… and we know Google picked up SageTV. Wonder which of these guys gets OTA recording first? There’s a market opportunity there (and TiVo’s fee scares folks away).
Fort. Don’t know what you mean with “As soon as Cartoon Network”? As of today they have the least amount of content of any other kids network available online for free. And by that I mean FULL episodes and not just clips (which they seem to have a ton of).
It seems the reason for this is because they require authentication to prove you’re subscribing to cable. But instead of giving you acess to a lot of content. The only give you access to the few episodes they used to provide for free.
“It’s an exciting time, for sure.”
Sadly I don’t agree. I’ve been following this industry for almost 10 years now and have become very cynical. From my perspective, not much has really changed since the DVR was introduced.
I do still have hope that my kids will live to see the dream of an enjoyable TV experience that offers anything, anywhere, anytime and on any screen.
Dave, I agree with you about the Revue’s clutter factor. A full-sized keyboard doesn’t pass as a suitable remote control in my book and I’m not even sure I want a keyboard in my living room, period. And this “mini controller” is ergonomically ridiculous, not to mention, now $30 more than the box it’s meant to control:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0040QE97A/ref=nosim/appleink/
I am excited about the Revue’s price drop as well as the arrival of the new OS and the app marketplace. The most compelling thing to me about this unit is the HDMI passthrough… offering up this content as an “overlay” on your TV’s default input (no need to change to input #2) is a wonderful thing. But until they work out the ergonomics and pricing on a suitable remote control, I’m going to take a pass. My TV’s well fed by AppleTV, Roku, and Vudu already!
Another piece of this puzzle that’s pleasing me greatly lately is Airplayable web videos from my laptop’s browser. Not from iOS and not from iTunes, but straight from my web browser to the AppleTV. This is made possible by a pair of Safari extensions, and they work wonderfully. I worked with the developer on this idea, and installing these on my system was an absolute game-changer for me. Enjoy!
http://www.macstories.net/reviews/clicktoplugin-brings-airplay-support-to-safari-for-mac/
I don’t know how this is all going to work out in the long run, but certainly Google opening its app store to Google TV apps is a potential big deal. Something I’d like to see Apple do as well. Its possible that some of the content companies that currently block Google TV from displaying their content will submit apps with what they consider to be acceptable checks (TV Anywhere checks say) and at least allow some users to access their content that way as a result. And there is the POTENTIAL that apps on platforms like this could produce some really interesting stuff.
That said, there are already app platforms in the world, Samsung’s say, and the only apps of interest on them really are just the “TV Channel” and “VOD” apps that we all understand at this point–HBO Go, Netflix, Vudu, etc.
Will there be apps that we couldn’t have imagined before the platform opened up? I don’t know. It does seem possible–twitter captions over a football game say, or the Oscars telecast. Or something cool we can’t imagine yet.
Or not. I’m not sure the current installed base of Google TV will exactly incentivize developers.
With all the talk of the coming “Apple (real) TV” I’ve been thinking about this category a lot and I still don’t really see it. Without a source of live TV something like this is just a supplement, and the Google implementation has a lot of holes–integrating well only with Dish TV STBs for example. Something they haven’t really addressed yet.
To me it seems like the best approach is going to be either to partner with somebody (Apple/Comcast, Google/Dish) or to build a home gateway yourself. Apple for example could build a home DVR with cable card slots. Yes it would still SUCK in terms of getting the cards installed, but once they were they could do whole home streaming to multiple Apple TV devices which could focus on the U/I, OTT streaming and apps that seem the most appropriate for them. The alternative is to wait for the FCC mandated AllVid which I’d suggest would likely be a losing game–taking to long and likely fraught with hidden time-bombs (oh sorry, we require this other DRM-scheme that you can’t license).
I don’t know if Apple or Google could get a home DVR cablecard-certified or not if it supported in home streaming and such. Perphaps Ben knows the answer to that…