Google TV Going the Way of Nexus One

Technology can be quite tragic. Back in the spring when Google first announced Google TV, I and thousands/millions/billions of others were quite intrigued. Was this finally it? Television and Internet together in a functional, intuitive way? Finally? It certainly looked like Google had a shot what with applying its unparalleled search prowess to television and instituting features like dual view.

But then, when it finally came out, it was rather lackluster. Too expensive for a set-top box, not included on top-end TVs and falling short on both the content and interface sides. It wasn’t quite the end-all of Internet TV that we’d hoped. In fact, dollar for dollar, it was less intriguing than a Roku box.

And apparently the market reaction is reflecting that, despite Google TV being just one degree from Kevin Bacon. Because Google has asked its hardware partners not to showcase any Google TV products at CES next month. With only the Logitech Revue and Sony TVs sporting Google, you’d think that Google would be all to eager to have other partners like Toshiba, LG and Sharp give us a second look at G TV. But apparently, Google’s realized what many consumers have: as it stands now, Google TV just isn’t quite ‘it.’ According to the NY Times, Google wants to fix its software before launching any new hardware.

I hope that this indicates Google is just working on an improved Google TV (or maybe working to bring prices down) and not that they’re thinking of canning it altogether. Without some of the kinks and price, I think that Google TV could still be a solid look. [via NY Times]