Google is at it again. Ever since it became an Internet pioneer, Google has ventured into the cell phone industry and social networking with the Droid and Google+. Now Google is hoping to take that online success and bring it into our living rooms. In a post on its official blog this past Friday, Google announced that it would release a new version of software for Google TV. This new software will come equipped with a smoother user interface, an easier way to navigate content, and access to the huge Android app market. The update will first arrive to compatible Sony TV units and to external Logitech devices soon after. With this news, Google stock stayed relatively stable on Friday but closed on Monday down 1.25 percent. When the opening bell rang on Tuesday, the stock had dropped even more.
Surprisingly, this marks Google’s second attempt at making Google TV a success. In May of 2010, Google announced the release of its first version of Google TV. This initial version was considered largely unsuccessful and failed to reach any noteworthy level of prominence. After launching at a price of $299, Google TV quickly fell in value and the price was cut to $99. Because of this lack of success, many people are unaware of what Google TV offers as a product. Let me explain.
In essence, Google TV brings the limitless world of the Internet and online video to your living room television. Companies like HBO, YouTube, and Netflix allow you to stream content through Google TV. Not only can users stream content from these select companies, but they also have access to the full Android app market. The powerful Google Chrome web browser allows users to surf the web at their leisure. Google TV is available on all Sony Internet TV models and also on an external device called the Logitech Revue that is compatible with most other television sets. The new software upgrade now allows you to use your iPhone or Droid as a remote control, which could be a nice perk. However, the issue with Google TV lies with what you cannot do. NBC, CBS, FOX, and ABC do not allow Google TV to stream their content, which eliminates a large part of the television market. Even aggregate content sites like Hulu and Fancast do not have streaming content on Google TV. The new version of this Google TV still does not include content from these major networks, but if it is any consolation, Google TV has improved the video quality of its existing content.
How will Google’s attempt to expand into the living room fare this time around? To me, these changes are nice on the outside, but they do not seem to be enough just quite yet. There is no doubt, though, that Google is on to something. For only $99, Google TV is probably worth a shot. Expanding the World Wide Web onto the living room television is just a matter of time and I applaud Google for trying to be the pioneer.
Google TV seems to just be a mishmash of good ideas that do not fit together in quite the right way. I think the missing piece is the valuable content from major network companies. A partnership with them would allow users to watch any show that they missed on regular TV. Instead of paying a fee to access them online or searching for hours for a pixilated version of an episode, users could simply watch it in HD on the big screen.
I think that is where Google TV has the best chance of success. Viewing online content in high definition on a big screen television is something that appeals to everyone. Getting the Internet off of the tiny computer screen and onto the HDTV is inevitable. Like I said before, Google is on to something. Google may not have had the most success its first time around with Google TV, but I think eventually this idea will succeed. Unfortunately for Google though, their friends at Apple have developed “Apple TV” as well. Yet again, this competition between Google and Apple is bound to produce another great piece of technology. Will Google finally beat Apple to the punch and be the first to perfect Internet television? Only time will tell.