Logitech, makers of the Revue set-top box for Google TV, now has some extremely harsh words for the once expected “revolutionary” product. Calling it a “beta” product that was “not ready for prime time,” Logitech now says their involvement with Google TV was a “mistake of implementation of a gigantic nature.” Ouch!
Google TV was supposed to be a cutting-edge new way to integrate the Internet with our television viewing. But the poor interface, over-sized keyboard remote and hefty $300. price tag never caught on with the general public. In a move to improve the service, Google TV recently released Google 2.0, which included the ability to bring XXX Internet porn to the living room TV in lieu of having to watch it on a small computer screen. Logitech even dropped the price of the set-top box to $99. But so far, Google TV has still been a bust.
Logitech CEO Guerrino De Luca confessed to investors that Logitech lost more than $100 million in operating profits on the Revue, saying Google TV simply wasn’t ready to launch when it did and that Logitech mistakenly thought the product was revolutionary. “To make the long story short, we thought we had invented [sliced] bread and we just made them,” DeLuca said. The company made a commitment to “just build a lot because we expected everybody to line up for Christmas and buy these boxes [at] $300…that was a big mistake.”
As a result, Logitech says it will kill off their existing relationship with Google TV and simply let existing inventory of the Revue run out. Also, they will not make another set-top box to replace it.
So is Google TV effectively dead? Perhaps, but perhaps not. Word in the tech world is that South Korea-based LG plans to unveil a television at CES in January, that could be based on Google TV software. Stay tuned…
