Vizio and Samsung Still Mum on Their Google TV Plans
Take two of Google TV is coming into somewhat better focus as product pricing and availability plans have been released in advance of Google’s I/O developer conference that starts Wednesday in San Francisco.
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Sony began taking preorders Monday for its NSZ-GS7 Internet Player with Google TV ($199), which the company announced at the last CES. The NSZ-GS7, due in stores July 17, joins LG’s G2 series of Google TV-integrated 3D TVs, which began shipping at the end of May. Sony’s NSZ-GP9 Blu-ray player with Google TV ($299), also announced at CES, will ship in time for the holiday season, the company said. Sony’s Google TV devices will be available direct from Sony and at national retailers, a spokesman told us.
Vizio’s Google TV companion streaming player is “coming soon,” said the Google TV website. Vizio didn’t respond to our Google TV questions by deadline. Logitech, which fielded the pricey $249 Revue set-top box for Google TV 1.0, abandoned the platform in November 2011, after adding apps and cutting the price to $99. At the time acting President Guerrino De Luca said Logitech has “no plans to build another box” for Google TV (CED Nov 11 p5) following a “mistake of implementation of giant nature.” De Luca said Revue boxes in the market were “ready to run Google 2.0,” but that Logitech planned to focus on other areas for growth.
Regarding Sony’s learning lessons from gen one put to use in the second iteration of Google TV, the spokesman told us, “the primary change is how the viewer interacts with the Google TV platform.” User complaints first time around focused on clunky operation, among other things, and the new remote is Bluetooth instead of infrared, taking the line of sight requirement away for the remote. The two-sided remote will come with a fully backlit QWERTY keyboard, a touch pad for both “point and click,” and “pinch and pull” for use when Web browsing, the spokesman said. The remote also includes a 3-axis motion controller for gaming. The company is also “excited to see” what apps the developer community comes up with to make use of the motion control technology, he said. The remote is controllable by voice commands, including for Internet searches, he said.
Sony will be the first manufacturer to launch Google TV products outside of the U.S., starting with the U.K. launch of the streaming player in July, followed later by launches in Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Netherlands, Brazil and Mexico, the company said. The NSZ-GP9 Blu-ray player with Google TV will launch first in the U.S. this fall, followed later by Canada, Australia, the U.K., France, Germany and Netherlands, it said.
Meanwhile, there’s no further word on Samsung’s plans for Google TV. A spokesman for Samsung told us the Korean company will “continue collaborating with Google to develop and provide the best TV experience for consumers.” Combining the strengths and experiences of each company will result in “an offering in the future that will deliver an entirely distinct experience in the category,” the spokesman said.