Logitech Launches First Google TV Hardware

Logitech Revue For Google TV

Television, meet Google. At the Clift Hotel in San Francisco on Wednesday, Logitech introduced its Google TV product line, the first of at least a handful of forthcoming consumer electronics devices designed to support Google's effort to bring television and Internet content together on a single platform.

This is not the first attempt to cross-breed TV and the Net, but it is arguably the most credible to date. WebTV Networks, acquired by Microsoft in 1997, had some success with the concept after it launched in 1996. But past efforts haven't really created a whole greater than the sum of its parts, making the value proposition dubious.

The problem, as described by Gerald Quindlen, president and CEO of Logitech, is that consumers have access to a tremendous amount of content through a variety of sources, but no easy way to access all of it. This challenge, said Quindlen, is what Google TV aims to solve.

"There has not been up to now a single solution to bring all this together in a single interface because, to steal a recent movie title, it's complicated," said Quindlen.

Google TV brings television, the Web, Android-based apps, and personal computer files together in a single place, in a single interface. It works because of the glue that is Google's core competency: search, via keyword and voice.

With fast, effective search, a simple interface, and the right input options, surfing the Web on a TV is no longer a second-class experience and augmenting TV content with Web elements and apps seems less clumsy.

The core of Logitech's Google TV product line is the Logitech Revue, a $300 set-top box that integrates with existing video hardware and TVs and allows those devices to be controlled from a single remote through IR signals. The Revue comes with a wireless keyboard control unit ($100 if purchased separately); it can also be controlled using an iPhone or Android phone, or a Logitech Mini Controller ($130).

Logitech Revue For Google TV

Logitech sees Google TV as a way to make the living room into a communication hub. In addition to its Revue hardware, it introduced the Logitech TV Cam ($150) and Vid HD video conferencing software, for those keen to be seen while splayed on the couch, plumbing a bag of chips.

The Revue will be particularly useful to DISH Network subscribers, because Google TV allows the user to search DISH content and control DISH DVRs. DISH customers can purchase a Revenue for $180.

The Logitech Revue is expected to be on store shelves in two or three weeks. It will initially be available from Amazon.com, Best Buy, and Logitech, which are now accepting pre-orders.

Next week, Sony plans to introduce its line of Bravia Internet TVs and Blu-ray players with built-in Google TV support. On Monday, Google launched a Web site to promote Google TV.

The real value of Google TV may not become apparent until early next year. That's when Google plans to release a version of its Android SDK for Google TV application development.

"This is the beginning of a much broader transformation that's going to be taking place," said Google senior product manager Rishi Chandra.

Apple, as it happens, may also be headed in the same direction. The company recently released an updated version of its Apple TV device, which now happens to be running iOS. Apple could open up Apple TV to its considerable iOS developer community following a future iOS update.

Without better search technology, it's not immediately clear whether Apple can transform Apple TV from a living room add-on to a living room nexus. What's more, the company's power as the gatekeeper of iTunes may have made potential partners wary.

Apple TV does have one significant advantage over the early round of Google TV products: price. Set-top boxes have not been huge sellers historically, and at $300, the Logitech Revue isn't as likely to fly off the shelves as Apple's $99 Apple TV.

But if Google and its partners can realize their vision for Google TV, convenience and empowerment may trump cost concerns.