After the debacle that was Google TV and the aborted Nexus Q sideshow, Google bounced back nicely with the inexpensive and effective $35 Chromecast streaming stick. Not content to leave well enough alone, Android TV was announced at Google I/O and the Asus Nexus Player recently hit the market ahead of a revised, second generation Chromecast. And, as these two new products ramp up while project management fails to present a clear vision, Google has hedged their bets… by launching their Google Play video store on Roku. Given Logitech’s abandonment of Google TV and ASUS’ prior streaming efforts, Amazon Fire TV is the “Android TV” I’d go with or that aforementioned Roku for those deep into Google’s ecosystem. While Amazon similarly provides its video service to competing devices, including TiVo, the retailer’s business model and approach is better defined.
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Ahhh, I don't think it goes that way. I (optimistically) see it as Google acknowledging what I already think -- I'm not going to buy a movie on a store that's not available on all/most devices I own. I'm not ready to bet on Amazon having better dev support for the Fire TV going forward.
While I agree with Richard to a point, Google does have a bad track record of killing off things in TV space.
I dunno... as we see with many Android phones poorly supported in regards to software updates (and Google history in this space), I just wouldn't mess with Android TV. Roku, Apple, Amazon supply both the hardware and OS (as does Google with Chromecast) which changes the dynamics. Also making me uneasy... Google's reference hardware given away at I/O looks to have been destined for retail, yet obviously never ended up on store shelves (or Nexus sites). suggesting another pulled plug.