Google's attempt to integrate Internet services into TVs via set top boxes or inside TVs themselves has not exactly been a big hit with consumers. In fact it hasn't been a huge success for companies that have launched products based on Google's television/internet hybrid technology. The Wall Street Journal reports that as part of its financial conference call with analysts this week, Logitech's acting president and CEO Guerrino De Luca admitted that its Google TV-based set-up box the Logitech Revue has not been a success.
Part of the reason was that more units of the Logitech Revue were returned to the company than were actually sold. Guerrino said that the Google TV platform was partly to blame, saying, " ... Google TV has not yet fully delivered to its own promises." Logitech launched the Revue product in the fall of 2010 for $299 and later cut the price to $249. As we reported on Thursday, Logitech has now slashed the price of the product to just $99. In explaining the price drop Guerrino said, "There was a significant gap between our price and the value perceived by the consumer."
Google TV's platform has also been built into televisions by companies such as Sony. The idea was to give TVs more Internet features including a full version of Google's Chrome web browser, access to lots of Internet video platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go and others and also access to social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. One of the biggest issues with Google TV is that a number of television networks have blocked Google TV's access to online versions of their TV shows. Consumers have also complained that the Google TV service itself can be too hard to use.
A Google spokesperson said that the company still supports its Google TV efforts and that a major update will be released for the platform later this fall. The spokesperson added, "It's still early days for smart TVs and we're investing to continue to bring innovation and progress for our partners and users."
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