Google is a company who is usually known for their innovations and generally ugly UI design (lets be honest, there is nothing clean about Gmail). But what many tend to forget is Google’s many failed services which include things like Google Video, Buzz, Wave, Page Creator, and Latitude. Of course, there are then smaller services like Google Health and Power Meter services that just never really gained much traction, and thus attention, from Google after their launch. Now, there seems to be another large release failure from Google and sadly, manufacturers, not Google, are going to be the ones taking the hit for it.
Google TV, which was launched just a little over a year ago, was promised to revolutionize the TV-viewing experience and the living room. Google partnered with big brands like Logitech and Sony to make sure that the platform had a multitude of support with setup boxes like the Logitech Revue and the Sony Internet TV Blu-ray Disc Player which could plug into any devices. Sony even went as far as releasing a 24″-,32″-,40″- and 46″-inch LCD TV with Google TV built in. Now, the product that promised to bring web, email, and apps into the living rooms while battling the Apple TV seems to be dead. Following Logitech’s last week announcement in which they announced the end of the Logitech Revue and a price cut from $299 to $99 in order to clear out their hanging inventory, Sony is following suit with a fire sale of their own.
All four Sony Internet TVs have taken a severe price cut with the 24-inch unit now priced at $599 $299, the 32-inch at $799 $499, the 40-inch at $999 $799 and the 46-inch at $1,399 $999. Sony’s Internet TV Blu-ray Disc Player has also dropped in price, down to $299 from the original $399. With little support, attention or promotion from Google after the platform’s release, Google also failed to come to the negotiation table with film and TV studios, so we soon saw the platform lose all access to websites with TV episodes like ABC and Fox.com. Of course in a situation like this, Google can quietly chug along while the R&D and physical products made by the likes of Sony will turn into a large financial sum loss.
Discuss:
Do you think further Google TV products will come from Sony or is this the end of this type of device from Sony for the time being? Also, should and could Google have done more to support the now dying format?
[Via Sony]
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