AllThingsD » Logitech

Eric Schmidt Says You'll Own a Google TV Sooner or Later

John Paczkowski — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 22:55:34 +0000

Google TV, the search company’s fledgling — and failing — smart TV platform, is destined for a big comeback in another few months. In fact, it will be ubiquitous across the TV industry.

That’s Google Chairman Eric Schmidt’s prediction, anyway.

Evidently, Schmidt views Logitech’s decision to abandon Google TV after a costly misadventure as confirmation of the platform’s consumer appeal and not its ill-starred future.

Speaking at the Le Web conference Thursday, Schmidt said Google TV, which is currently available only in Logitech’s now-abandoned Revue set-top box and Sony’s Internet TV, will sweep the television industry next year, penetrating its every corner.

“By the summer of 2012, the majority of the televisions that you see in stores will have Google TV embedded in them,” Schmidt said.

Really?

To pull that off Google will have to ink deals with a number of other big TV manufacturers — LG, Samsung, Sharp, and Philips — some of whom already have their own proprietary smart TV platforms. Indeed, LG, Philips and Sharp announced a joint platform in September. So either Schmidt knows something we don’t — i.e., a bunch of OEMs have already signed Google TV deals — or he’s just talking nonsense.

QOTD: "Oops" -- Google TV Edition

Peter Kafka — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:02:57 +0000

Google TV or a child of Google TV or the grandchild of Google TV will happen. The integration of television in Internet is inevitable. But the idea that it would happen overnight in Christmas 2010 was very misguided and that also cost us dearly.

Logitech CEO Guerrino De Luca during his company’s analyst day this week, describing his company’s failed Google TV/“Revue” boxes as a “mistake of implementation of a gigantic nature”

Google TV Software Update Ready; New Hardware Postponed

Ina Fried — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 15:00:12 +0000

Google announced today that it is finally done with a significant overhaul of its Google TV software. The update brings with it a number of new features, including support for Android apps and a makeover of the user interface.

Google had originally said that the software update would come this summer and that it would be quickly followed by new hardware. Today, the company said that would-be Google TV buyers will have to stick with the existing products from Sony and Logitech, or wait until early next year for second-generation products, which Google has said will come from Vizio and Samsung, among others.

“We think we’ve done right by taking a little more time to build a really strong platform,” Google TV head Mario Queiroz said in a telephone interview. Google first previewed the new look for its TV product at its I/O conference in May.

Google said the update will be made available first to Sony products starting on Sunday, and shortly after that to those with Logitech-based products.

Initial sales of Google TV were quite weak, with hardware partners forced to slash prices — particularly Logitech, which has been selling its Revue set-top box for $99 in an effort to move its excess inventory.

Queiroz said that Google sees the TV effort as a long-term one, and notes that the company has doubled the number of people working on the project (Queiroz refused to give any exact numbers on that)

The new version of Google TV is based on the Honeycomb version of Android, and can run some existing programs as well as a number of new apps specifically designed to work with the product. However, most Android apps won’t work, as they require features such as telephony or a touchscreen.

Queiroz said that of the hundreds of thousands of Android apps, there should be around 1,800 apps that will work with Google TV initially, and even most of those won’t be optimized for the TV. Google has been working with about 50 developers on the first TV-optimized apps, he said.

For its part, Google said it has improved the Chrome browser and YouTube apps to be more TV-friendly, and has added a movies and television app that makes it easier to find the content you want to watch, whether it is coming from your cable or satellite subscription, services like Amazon or Netflix, or from the broader Internet.

Another big shift is in how Google is positioning its TV product. After spooking Hollywood early on, the company is taking great pains to position Google TV as a complement to — rather than a replacement for — broadcast television.

“Our purpose is certainly not to duplicate content,” Queiroz said.

When Google TV came out, the major broadcasters blocked Google TV from accessing their content both directly and from Hulu. There is no expectation that will change with the update and Google is stressing that it doesn’t see the product as an option for would-be cord cutters.

Google is announcing some new content partnerships, though most are either already over-the-top services or minor broadcast presences. New partners include CNNMoney, Flixster, Fox Business, Amazon’s IMDB, Khan Academy, Motor Trend, NPR and The Wall Street Journal (which, like AllThingsD, is owned by Dow Jones).

While the TV industry shifted from three networks to hundreds with the advent of cable, Google is trying to pitch Google TV as the right product for a television universe that is expanding to millions of options.

“We think we are going through another shift,” Quieroz said.

How to Outfit the iPad 2 to Make Typing Easier

Walter S. Mossberg — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 01:04:29 +0000

Although it’s a smash hit, Apple’s iPad isn’t winning the hearts of users who find it difficult to type on its onscreen keyboard. And even for many who love their iPads for other things and can type shorter items on the screen, the lack of a physical keyboard has meant they still must turn to their laptops for intensive typing tasks.

[ See post to watch video ]

One solution to this dilemma has been to carry a separate wireless keyboard. But that means carrying two things. So a number of companies offer protective cases for the iPad 2 with low-profile, but real, keyboards built right into their inner surfaces. These keyboards appear when you open the cases, which act as stands for the tablet while you type.

I’ve been testing four such iPad 2 combo keyboard cases, each of which lists for $100. I also took a look at a slightly different accessory, a new full-size $130 keyboard and stand for the iPad 2 that folds up and holds the tablet for carrying, though it doesn’t cover or protect the screen.

If I were personally going to buy one of these, it would likely be the Logitech Keyboard Case for iPad 2, a thin, light and sturdy aluminum enclosure with a keyboard I liked. But this is a personal decision, involving the look and shape of the case, the feel of the keyboard and the angles at which they prop up the iPad. I strongly recommend going to a store and trying some before choosing one.

Though these rival cases differ, they all have certain things in common. They all make the beautiful, slim iPad 2 much bulkier and heavier. Also, the keyboards inside these cases require recharging after a few weeks or months, depending on how heavily they’re used. And none comes with a charger. You have to charge them from a laptop, or by using the wall adapter that you use to charge the iPad itself, or another USB-compatible charger.

In addition, these cases only work well for typing when you place them on a flat surface. And I found they make it clumsier to hold the iPad for reading. They have special keys for such things as replicating the iPad’s home button; searching; volume; copy, cut and paste; and controlling music and video playback. Most also switch the iPad’s screen on and off when you open or close them. Finally, with each keyboard, you have to perform a simple, one-time Bluetooth “pairing” process with the iPad the first time you use them.

Here are some features and downsides to the cases and keyboards I tested.

Logitech Keyboard Case for iPad 2

This is the simplest of the keyboard cases I tested. It’s just a thin, rigid aluminum tray with a recessed keyboard in the bottom. To use it as a carrying case, you snap your iPad 2 into the tray, where it’s held tight by rubbery pads in the corners that keep the screen from touching the keyboard. You can still charge the iPad while it’s in the case. When you’re ready to type, you remove the iPad 2 and stand it up in a groove above the top row of keys, in either a horizontal or vertical position.

This case is the only one I tried that doesn’t completely cover the iPad 2. It uses the tablet’s aluminum back as a part of its protection. I found it to be lighter, thinner and yet sturdier than the others. I also liked the feel of its keyboard and found the angle at which it held the iPad to be excellent. The product was developed by a small company called Zagg, which made a similar case for the original iPad. Logitech is coming out later this month with a version for the 10.1-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet.

Zaggfolio

Zagg also has come out with its own new design for the iPad 2, a hard-plastic wraparound case that completely covers the tablet. The iPad snaps inside the top cover, and the cover, when opened, tilts forward to allow the tablet to nestle into a groove in a keyboard that is almost identical to that of the Logitech. One difference: The folio allows the iPad 2 to be used only in horizontal mode while in the case.

The first units of the folio, which came out in July, had a defective closure. That has been fixed and the company is offering to replace the early units. I tested the revised version and it closes tightly. The folio comes in a variety of colors, as does its removable keyboard—the only removable keyboard I tested. This case also had the best-aligned cutouts for the iPad 2′s buttons and ports of the wraparound models tested.

Kensington KeyFolio Pro

This is a soft-plastic case that, like the Zagg, stores the iPad 2 inside the top lid and places the keyboard inside the bottom lid. It has no latch, and doesn’t switch the iPad screen on and off. The Kensington differs from the others in that it has a swivel mechanism that allows the iPad 2 to be used vertically or horizontally while tucked into the top cover. However, I found the angle at which it placed the screen to be too straight for comfortable viewing while typing. And, in vertical mode, I found the screen was a bit wobbly. I liked the feel of the keyboard, but it was the only wraparound that lacked dedicated buttons for copy, cut and paste.

Belkin Keyboard Folio

This is another soft plastic wraparound model, but I found it too complicated and bulky. It tucks the keyboard under the top flap that holds the iPad 2, so you can use it as just a stand. But this made it thick and, to my eye, odd-looking, when closed. On the plus side, it offers multiple angles, though it only allows horizontal use of the iPad.

I found the keyboard more cramped than those on the others. I also found the iPad hardest to insert and remove on the Belkin, and the holes for the ports and buttons to be the least aligned.

Logitech Fold-Up Keyboard

This isn’t actually a case and it doesn’t protect the screen at all. Instead, its main selling point is that, unlike the others, it packs in a full-size keyboard that protrudes beyond the iPad’s dimensions via a clever design. The keyboard is hinged in the middle and folds out from beneath a hard-plastic cradle that holds the iPad 2 face up and allows access to all the ports and buttons. When the keyboard unfolds, it raises the iPad into a standing position, in horizontal orientation. It probably will appeal most to people just carrying an iPad around the office or home. It costs $130, and, to protect the screen, you’d have to shell out another $40 for Apple’s own screen cover. It will be unveiled next week and available in September.

Bottom line: You don’t need either a case or a keyboard to use an iPad 2, but if you want both in one package, there are plenty of choices.

Email Walt at mossberg@wsj.com.

QOTD: Google TV Sales Worse Than Nonexistent

Peter Kafka — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 21:34:03 +0000

Sales of Logitech Revue were slightly negative during the quarter, as returns of the product were higher than the very modest sales.

— Logitech explaining the nonperformance of its Google TV box during the company’s second quarter (from SplatF via GigaOm). Logitech has now slashed the price on the box from $249 to $99, and Logitech CEO Gerald Quindlen has resigned.

And Intellectual Ventures Says Lawsuits Are a Ridiculous Way to Do Business

John Paczkowski — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 17:44:13 +0000

Intellectual Ventures founder Nathan Myhrvold once said “lawsuits are a ridiculous way to do business.” But evidently not so ridiculous that the “invention capital firm” — or patent troll, depending on your views on innovation and intellectual property — is above resorting to them when it can’t extract the licensing fees it feels it’s owed.

Late Monday, IV filed suit against Hynix Semiconductor and Elpida Memory alleging the two companies have infringed several of its patents related to DRAM and Flash memory. Also named in the suit: Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Acer, Logitech, Best Buy and a handful of other companies that make or sell devices running on Hynix or Elpida chips. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.

According to the complaint, IV approached Hynix Semiconductor in 2008 and Elpida in 2009 in an effort to negotiate licenses for the patents at issue here, but was rebuffed. “Despite Intellectual Ventures’ good faith efforts to negotiate a business solution, [Hynix and] Elpida [have] failed and refused to license Intellectual Ventures’ patents on reasonable terms and continues to use those inventions without permission,” IV explains in its complaint. “[It] has been irreparably harmed by Defendants’ acts of infringement, and will continue to be harmed unless and until Defendants’ acts of infringement are enjoined and restrained by order of this Court.”

The suit, IV’s fourth since it was first established, confirms once and for all that the company is willing to litigate to win the patent licensing deals on which its business depends. And that has wide implications for the tech industry. As IP attorney Bijal Vakil said last year when IV sued a handful of security software outfits, “It’s a pretty significant wake-up call for Silicon Valley companies that the threat of this type of massive litigation is real and it’s not going away anytime soon.”

[Image credit: Jan Tik/Flickr]

Google TV Aims to Turn the Channel With New Release Later This Year

Ina Fried — Wed, 04 May 2011 14:00:47 +0000

Google TV may not have won over many critics or fans with its first season, but Google still thinks it could be a long-term hit.

Before renewing the product for another season, though, Google is making a number of changes to the script. In addition to trying to make it more approachable, the company is hoping to change the way Google TV is thought of in the market. Initially, many people saw the product as a potential way to get around the big TV providers by using Web-based services. However, Hulu and other mainstream Web video services quickly blocked access via Google TV.

This time around, Google TV will be pitched more clearly as something that can add to a traditional TV experience, both through a wave of new applications and by delivering video that even the broadest satellite or cable package doesn’t have.

Google TV debuted last year as an option on certain Sony TVs and Blu-Ray players as well as via a set-top box from Logitech. However, it was met with disappointing sales and lackluster reviews. Logitech, for example, said it sold just $5 million worth of Google TV products last quarter, far less than it was expecting.

But Google sees the marriage of Internet and the television as in its early days. And it imagines the first version of Google TV not unlike the G1, the first Android phone. While the phone offered hints at what Google’s phone would eventually become, it was itself not much to look at and more than a little clunky. Over time, of course, Android became a major force in the smartphone business.

The first glimmers of the new TV will come next week at the Google I/O conference, where Google will present a session for developers on creating TV-friendly Android apps. However, the next version of Google TV and the TV-centric version of the Android Market won’t be announced until some time in the coming months, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The goal, sources said, is to have a new version of Google TV ready at least in time for this year’s holiday season. The company is bringing on additional hardware partners, including Samsung and Vizio. Business Insider reported that new hardware will be based on faster chips, although sources told Mobilized that existing Google TV models should also be upgradeable to the new software.

Google is not alone in chasing this Internet-centered view of TV, however. Apple has made the latest version of Apple TV based on Apple’s iOS. Although today’s version doesn’t support running third-party apps, the company has certainly laid the groundwork architecturally to head in that direction. Microsoft, meanwhile, is attacking the living room both by adding entertainment features to its Xbox 360 and by making its Mediaroom IPTV platform more app friendly.

Nor is this the first go-around at this. The dream of marrying TV and the Internet has been around since before the dot-com bubble with companies like WebTV and Wink all chasing the goal of bringing interactivity to the television.

Gaming at CES to Span Kinect-Like Controls for PCs, But Nothing Major From Nintendo

Tricia Duryee — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 01:38:45 +0000

Nintendo will be exhibiting for the first time at the Consumer Electronics Show in 16 years, but don’t expect the game-console maker to announce anything substantial this week.

Rather than competing among the throng of exhibitors attempting to be noticed at the show, Nintendo will host a private event in two weeks to preview its 3DS, a new handheld game player that provides a 3D experience without the need for special glasses.

Invitations to the Jan. 19 event in New York City have already been sent to reporters, who will have the opportunity to play games on the device, watch demonstrations and hear a presentation from President and COO of Nintendo of America Reggie Fils-Aime.

So, without major news coming from Nintendo, what else can we expect at CES from the gaming space?

We’ll be watching for news from among more than 35 exhibitors that are attending from the games industry. They include AMD, HP, Intel, LevelUp, Logitech, Microsoft, Nintendo, Nokia, Sony, Alcazar Entertainment, Cosmi, DC Comics/Warner and DreamWorks Animation, and gaming retailers, such as Amazon and GameStop.

One of the stars will likely be Microsoft’s Kinect, the Xbox accessory that uses cameras to track a player’s movements to allow them to play games without a traditional controller.

In all likelihood, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who kicks off CES with a pre-show keynote address on Wednesday, will use the venue to brag about the Kinect’s runaway success.

This holiday season Microsoft expected to sell 5 million Kinects after saying it sold 2.5 million Kinects in the first 25 days. It’s been sold-out at many retailers for weeks, but we haven’t heard whether it met its 2010 target. At least, not yet.

Microsoft is banking on the Kinect to widen the demographic of the Xbox beyond the hardcore gamer, so widespread adoption will be key.

Another company that is already getting attention in the days leading up to CES is PrimeSense, which Microsoft licensed the core Kinect technology from.

The Israeli company is planning to show how the motion-controlled interface can be used for the PC.

The device will be similar to the Kinect because it will allow users to interact with a PC without a mouse or keyboard. It won’t be only for gaming, but also for typical PC activities, like accessing the Internet and browsing media.

The device is expected to be ready for the PC next year — but this time, not from Microsoft, reports BusinessInsider.com. Rather, PrimeSense is teaming up with PC and peripheral maker Asus.

Logitech Sees Better Reviews for Revue Google TV Device

Don Clark — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 04:20:28 +0000

It’s been far from smooth sailing in the early days of Google TV. But partner Logitech International insists the winds are beginning to blow its direction.

New devices based on Google’s TV software billed themselves as offering the whole Internet on users’ televisions, not a walled garden of selected offerings typified by products like Apple TV. But some early reviews of hardware based on the approach–including a Sony TV and Logitech’s Revue set-top box–have been negative. And some content providers have also blocked their offerings from working with Google TV.

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Logitech Delaying New GoogleTV, Too–Report

Peter Kafka — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 16:11:56 +0000

Google has reportedly told some of its partners to hold off introducing new versions of Google TV. So this one at least sounds right: Google has supposedly told Logitech to stop shipping its version of the Google TV box while Google upgrades the software. The catch: This report comes from DigiTimes, which is sometimes quite accurate about the Chinese supply chain for consumer electronics, but also misses the mark with some frequency.

Google TV: No Need to Tune In Just Yet

Walter S. Mossberg — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 02:07:11 +0000

The quest to bring the full range of Internet video to your TV in a simple way continues, but it isn’t going well. The latest team to try—Google, Logitech and Sony—has made an admirably bold effort, but, like others before, it has missed the mark, at least in its first effort.

[ See post to watch video ]

Google TV—software built into hardware made by Logitech and Sony—is very different from competing products, such as Apple TV and Roku. Unlike the others, it aims to merge Web video and regular TV in one simple interface, via one box, with one easily usable controller. Also, unlike the others, it isn’t limited to just customized channels that bring specific Web-video services to the screen. It lets you browse to almost any website with video, and play it on the TV.

But, for now, I’d relegate Google TV to the category of a geek product, not a mainstream, easy solution ready for average users. It’s too complicated, in my view, and some of its functions fall short.

You can get Google TV in three ways. One is through a small, black $300 set-top box called the Logitech Revue. The second is through a special Sony Blu-ray player that costs $400. The third is through a Sony TV with built-in Internet that starts at $600. All are much costlier than the $99 Apple TV or the $60 Roku, but they offer more of the Internet’s video and make the effort to integrate it with cable or satellite programming.

Logitech Revue for Google TV

Google TV cleverly piggybacks onto your existing cable or satellite box and can control it, at least to some extent. So there is no switching of inputs or remotes required, at least theoretically, to go between Internet video and regular TV—something that has plagued competing systems. But if you try to watch an Internet version of a show from a big network site or from Hulu on your Google TV device, it’s blocked, because the studios want to channel those shows through your cable or satellite box.

I tested Google TV using the Logitech Revue product, though I also met with Sony and had a briefing on their version, which looks and works pretty much the same. Setup took 12 steps and about 40 minutes and went pretty smoothly. It might have been worse if, as Logitech warns, your cable or satellite box requires you to install special cables to allow the Revue’s controller to operate it, or if you use a separate audio system. You need an HDTV with HDMI jacks on your TV and cable or satellite box to use the Logitech Revue.

The controller on the Revue is a wireless keyboard. Yes, that’s right, a keyboard, something you might find unattractive in the living room and no better than what you might use if you just plugged a PC into the TV.

Logitech does offer an optional “mini” controller for $130, but it is essentially a tinier keyboard with minuscule buttons and track pad crammed into a smaller space. It is more complex to operate than the big keyboard and much more complicated than a typical TV remote. Sony’s box comes with a similar, complex-looking mini-controller.

The key to Google TV, however, is the software, not the hardware. There is a home screen with a list of core functions, but, Google being Google, the principle activity is meant to be search. You just start typing what you want to see and Google TV brings up a list of hits from both regular TV and the Internet.

Unfortunately, in my tests, this search-and-viewing process was frustrating. For one thing, you only get a few results, and in my experience, they usually weren’t the right ones. When I was looking for the telecast of the Mark Twain Award ceremony for Tina Fey, all Google pointed me to were short clips on YouTube. I had to do a full Web search (a standard option in the brief list Google gives you) and then navigate through a standard Google results screen, which was unreadable at 10 feet without zooming in, to find the full show on the PBS website.

When I finally got to the PBS page, we watched the show, but it was noticeably pixelated on our large TV screen, even though my Internet connection is very fast.

In another case, I wanted to see the new Beatles-themed ads from Apple, but Google’s first results didn’t include them. The closest they came was an old fictional ad on the topic produced by a fan years ago. I manually navigated to Apple’s website, where the ads were prominent, but found that Google TV doesn’t support QuickTime, Apple’s video format. (The company says it plans to do so in a future release.) I knew the ads were also on YouTube, so I went there and eventually found them, with some effort, but they stuttered on playback.

To use the Logitech Revue for Google TV, you need an HDTV with HDMI jacks on your TV and cable or satellite box.

I was similarly frustrated by finding and using regular TV shows from my cable box. Unless you have a box from Dish network, Google TV can’t search in your recorded shows, or allow you, when it finds a show coming up, to set it to record. You’ll likely switch to your regular remote to do those things, which defeats Google’s aim of integration.

Also confusing is Google TV’s home screen, which has overlapping categories. For instance, there is a Queue, for some of your favorite podcasts and sites, and a Bookmarks for others. There is an Applications menu that takes you to specially designed apps that spare you from navigating the regular Web, such as the Netflix video service or Pandora Radio. But there is also a Spotlight category that has customized, simplified websites that, to an average user, amount to the same thing. And, so far, you can only search for the names of most applications, not any content they contain.

Google plans to add the Android Market of third-party apps to Google TV. That could be good, adding more functionality. But it also risks adding more complexity, unless Google redesigns the interface.

Google TV has its strong points. The integration of Web video and regular TV, while flawed, is a smart move. There is even a picture-in-picture feature that lets you keep watching TV while, say, using Twitter or any other Web function. And the Logitech box has an optional $150 camera that allows you to make free video calls. It worked well in my one test. Logitech also allows you to control the Revue from an iPhone or Android app.

But this is a 1.0 product. For now, I’d suggest average users dying to watch Internet video on a TV, either plug in a PC or use one of the wireless systems, like Intel’s Wi-Di, that wirelessly beam video from a PC to a TV. Or, you could wait for Google TV to improve.

Find all his columns and videos at walt.allthingsd.com Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.

Networks Block Web Programs From Being Viewed on Google TV

Sam Schechner and Amir Efrati — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 07:00:52 +0000

ABC, CBS and NBC are blocking TV programming on their websites from being viewable on Google Inc.’s new Web-TV service, exposing the rift that remains between the technology giant and some of the media companies it wants to supply content for its new products.

Full-length episodes of shows like NBC’s “The Office,” CBS’s “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” and ABC’s “Modern Family” can’t be viewed on Google TV, a service that allows people to access the Internet and search for Web videos on their television screens, as well as to search live TV listings. Logitech International S.A. and Sony Corp. began selling devices running the software this month.

Spokespeople for the three networks confirmed that they are blocking the episodes on their websites from playing on Google TV, although both ABC and NBC allow promotional clips to work using the service. ABC is owned by Walt Disney Co., CBS is part of CBS Corp., and NBC is a unit of General Electric Co.’s NBC Universal.

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Logitech Unveils $300 Revue Google TV Set-Top Box

Eric Savitz — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 22:21:02 +0000

Logitech (LOGI) this afternoon unveiled the Logitech Revue, a $299.99 set-top box and wireless keyboard controller based on the Android-based Google (GOOG) TV platform. The company also launched the Logitech TV Cam and Vid HD service for video calling.

The box provides a single access point for content from TV providers and the Web, along with a variety of applications. The Revue works with any HDMI-ready TV. The box uses the CE 4100 Intel (INTC) Atom processor. To install the box, you connected an included HDMI cable to you TV, and another cable to your cable or satellite TV box.

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Wednesday Is Prince Spaghetti Day in Silicon Valley

Kara Swisher — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 15:15:47 +0000

This morning just after 9 am PT in San Francisco, there is an event that Cisco (CSCO) is throwing, to show off its new consumer telepresence product that BoomTown reported on last week.

Then, at 10 am, down at its Palo Alto, Calif., HQ, Facebook is having yet another product launch event for the media–one of many regular gatherings like it in recent months–to show off new updates to its social networking service.

And, to round it out, Google (GOOG) and Logitech will be throwing a confab in the area to show off the first iteration of its Google TV device, with which consumers can use televisions to interact with all kinds of video and other content.

In other words, it’s a special day in Silicon Valle,y and All Things Digital will be right there covering all the action.

Until all this mess of innovation gets rolled out, please enjoy the video of the classic television commercial with Hey Anthony in Boston’s North End:

Google TV's New Pitch: Let Us Scare the Crap Out of You

Peter Kafka — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 12:35:41 +0000

Google TV is creeping out Hollywood studios, but average consumers don’t know a thing about it.

Solution: Logitech, one of Google’s partners, will help scare the rest of us, too.

That inscrutable/creepy ad is for Revue, a set-top box that will come bundled with Google’s (GOOG) platform this fall (thanks to Engadget for flagging). And if you watch the other videos in Logitech’s campaign, you’ll see that the company is trying to argue that Revue will make your TV feel less “lonely.”

So that makes a bit of sense, I guess. And I’m writing about it, so I guess it works. I just don’t know of many consumer electronic success stories that use the terror/befuddlement approach. But maybe this one will be different!

Google TV Is a Tough Sell Among Would-Be Partners

Jessica E. Vascellaro — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 14:51:30 +0000

Google Inc. is launching a campaign to line up TV networks’ support for its new Google TV software, but many remain reluctant to partner with a service they believe encroaches on their turf.

The service will allow people to watch and search cable, satellite and Web programming—as well as access regular Web pages—through TVs and set-top boxes that incorporate new Google software. The first devices, made by Sony Corp. and Logitech International SA, are due out this fall, marking another tug-of-war between tech companies eager for new content and media companies worried about giving it away.

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Why Will Google TV Be Any Different From WebTV? Or AOL TV? Or MSNTV? Or…

John Paczkowski — Fri, 21 May 2010 16:12:43 +0000

At its I/O developer conference Thursday in San Francisco, Google, predicted it would “change the future of television” with GoogleTV, an effort to marry broadcast TV with the Web. And in comments about the announcement, the company’s executives hawked the new software and hardware bundle with similarly aggrandizing pronouncements.

There was this from Google Senior Product Manager Rishi Chandra: “We’re going to have the same impact on the TV experience that the smartphone had on the phone experience.”

And then this from Google CEO Eric Schmidt: “TV has not been reinvented in any significant way since color television was brought in in the mid-1960s.”

With Google TV, Google clearly believes it is ushering in the rebirth of television. But, to Schmidt’s point, sure, TV hasn’t been reinvented in 50 years, but not for lack of trying.

The evolutionary path of the device is littered with failed Internet-TV initiatives. As the Time Magazine cover from Apr. 12, 1993 suggests, this is not a new idea. Nor has it been a successful one, at least not in implementations to date.

Steve Perlman’s WebTV, one the earliest products to bring the Internet to television, failed to gain significant market traction and didn’t do much better after it was acquired by Microsoft (MSFT) and turned it into MSNTV.

AOL TV, America Online’s (AOL) effort to extend its dominance from the PC to the television with a Web-TV hybrid, was scuttled in 2003, three years after it launched.

Brought to market with the help of some impressive hardware partners, like Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Microsoft’s Media Center Extenders never really caught on.

Launched more recently, Yahoo’s (YHOO) Connected TV initiative hasn’t garnered much notice. Then there’s Kodak’s (EK) Theater HD Player, which doesn’t seem to be doing that well either.

So what makes Google (GOOG) think it’s going to succeed where so many have failed? Particularly with a platform that, frankly, looks a lot like TiVo (TIVO) with a Web browser?

Aside from arrogance, that is?

Well, there’s an impressive list of partners. Certainly, adoption of Google TV stands to benefit quite a bit from Sony (SNE), Logitech (LOGI) and Dish Network (DISH) baking it into television sets, Blu-ray players and set-top boxes. And sources tell me other electronics manufacturers will soon join them. Content partnerships with Netflix (NFLX) and Amazon (AMZN) will also help.

But the partnerships that matter most with an effort like this–cable company partnerships–are entirely absent. The simple fact is that cable companies like Comcast (CMCSA) and Time Warner (TWX) not only distribute the majority of the set-top boxes in the U.S, they also have a strong hold over content providers. Unless Google can convince them that their current business model is in need of something like Google TV, pushing the platform into the mainstream is likely to prove quite difficult.

[Image Credit: Time Magazine]

Google Announces Web TV Google TV

John Paczkowski — Thu, 20 May 2010 16:20:29 +0000

“The revolution we’re about to go through is the biggest single change in television since it went color.”

Intel (INTC) CEO Paul Otellini said that last week, hinting at the announcement Google (GOOG) made just moments ago: A new software platform for set-top boxes and televisions that promises to marry broadcast TV with the Internet. Its name: Google TV. Its tagline: “TV meets Web. Web Meets TV.”

Announced at this morning’s Google I/O event, Google TV’s purpose is, in the words of Senior Product Manager Rishi Chandra, “to bring the entire Web to the television set…to take the best of what TV offers these days and the best of what the Web offers and combine them.”

Anyone remember WebTV?

With Google TV, the aim is to rethink the navigation of TV and make it more like the Web. “The Web has a very simple and elegant model for finding information: A search box,” Chandra said. “We want to give you that same experience with television.”

To do that, Google (GOOG) has extended the breadth of its search to TV programming. The platform’s “quick search box” returns results from the Web, as well as TV listings. These include programs available for purchase on sites like Amazon (AMZN) and Netflix (NFLX)–both partners in this effort, apparently.

Says Chandra: “To a user it doesn’t really matter where I get my favorite content, whether it be live TV, DVR or the Web. We just want easy access….Google TV makes the Web a natural extension of the TV itself….It’s just as easy to go to any site on the Web as it is to go to any channel on your television.”

And to Web-based advertising as well, of course. Remember there are some four billion TV users worldwide.

“Many times I see and interesting ad, but I can’t do anything with it,” says Chandra. “But advertisers have Web sites and with picture-in-picture functionality, I can now click on an ad and see them….Now every ad on TV has the potential to become interactive.”

And presumably, there’s potential here for Google to make a small profit from each of them.

So how will all of this work? Google TV’s software is built on Android 2.1 and uses Google Chrome as its browser. Because of this, Android smartphones can be used as remotes and Android applications can actually be used on televisions running the platform–something some observers have been encouraging Apple to do with AppleTV for years. Google’s Android Marketplace will be accessible via Google TV.

On the hardware side, there will be Google TV set-top boxes, TV sets, and Blu-ray players. Sony (SNE) is developing a full line of integrated TVs and a Blu-Ray player as well. Logitech (LOGI) is producing a set-top box. And Intel (INTC) is providing Atom chips for all of them. We should begin seeing Google TV devices at Best Buy (BBY) this fall.

“We’re coming to market soon and we’re coming in a big way,” says Chandra.”…Our goal is to have the same impact on the TV experience that the smartphone had on the phone experience.”

Earnings Week: You Want The Truth?

John Paczkowski — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 19:00:14 +0000

[ See post to watch video ]

New from Logitech: Cordless Optical Recession Mouse

John Paczkowski — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:43:02 +0000

The deepening global recession has apparently ruined the consumer appetite for computer accessories. To wit, Logitech International SA, the world’s largest maker of such devices, said today that sales fell for the first time in at least seven years.

Well, plunged is actually a better word–or perhaps, plummeted, arms flailing–into the void. Because Logitech’s net income for the third quarter fell a horrific 70 percent to $40.5 million. Analysts polled by Dow Jones had been forecasting $82.5 million–already, quite a bit less than the $133.6 million Logitech posted last year.

So this is a precipitous drop. And it’s one that’s forced the company to announce sweeping job cuts. Logitech (LOGI) will sack between 550 and 600 employees in the coming months.

For now, Logitech is cash-rich enough to survive ugliness like this, and it will almost certainly recover. But not for a while: “All indications point to an even weaker retail environment in the coming months,” the company said in a statement. “The deepening global recession had a significant impact on our operating performance as our customers continued to reduce inventory in the face of weaker consumer demand.”

[Image Credit: Instructables]

Logitech Withdraws Guidance; Sets 15 Percent Workforce Cut

Eric Savitz — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:21:07 +0000

Logitech (LOGI) late Monday said it is withdrawing its sales and operating income growth targets for the March 2009 fiscal year. The maker of computer peripherals and other consumer electronics accessories also said it will reduce its global workforce by about 15 percent. The company has about 9,400 employees, suggesting the loss of about 1,400 jobs. The cuts will result in an unspecified charge to earnings in the fiscal fourth quarter ending in March.

In a statement, CEO Gerald Quindlen said that in December, “the retail environment deteriorated significantly.” He said customers reduced inventory levels in the face of weaker consumer demand. Quindlen added that he expects the economic environment to worsen in the coming months.

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Meet "Kevin the Sad PR Guy," Our 2009 Booth Babe

John Paczkowski — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 20:41:42 +0000

Our industry is the one that this going to get the economy through this recession.

– Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association

The International Consumer Electronics Show will kick off next week shrouded in a nimbus of recessionary gloom. Show attendance is expected to be down eight percent this year, according to Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, who expects 130,000 attendees to flood the convention–11,000 fewer than last year. The show floor itself will be slightly diminished as well. CES exhibitor booths required 1.8 million square feet in 2008. In 2009, they’ll take up 1.7 million, presumably thanks to the absence of Seagate (STX), Logitech (LOGI), Cisco (CSCO), Philips (PHG), Yahoo (YHOO) and Sanyo–all of which have abandoned plans to exhibit on the show floor. That said, the overall number of exhibitors will remain the same as last year, at about 2,700.

So the show will be a bit smaller and a bit less clamorous than in years past. Likely a bit more sober as well, given this rough retail year. Quite a change from the extravagance of years past, but not without a certain upside. “This is the bleakest CES in 30 years going in,” said Envisioneering Group analyst Richard Doherty. “[Some exhibitors] will be spending more of their time off the show floor. We may now be able to get between the Venetian and the convention in less than an hour.”

Meet "Kevin the Sad PR Guy," Our 2009 Booth Babe

John Paczkowski — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 20:41:42 +0000

Our industry is the one that this going to get the economy through this recession.

– Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association

CES 2009: Three Booths and a Clapping Toy Monkey?

John Paczkowski — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 19:26:02 +0000

If a global manufacturer of computer hardware like Belkin’s not exhibiting at CES, who is? I posed that question jokingly earlier this morning, but turns out there’s a very real and ugly answer to it:

Not Seagate (STX).

Not Logitech (LOGI).

Not Cisco (CSCO).

Not Philips.

Not Yahoo. Obviously.

And not Sanyo, either.

All six companies have abandoned plans to exhibit on the Consumer Electronics Show floor. Like Belkin, they are all opting for the more intimate and inexpensive floorspace of a Vegas hotel room. Said Seagate spokesperson Woody Monroy, “We haven’t pulled out of CES…we’re just taking a different approach.” Cisco offered this statement on the matter:

On our Q1 FY ’09 earnings call on November 5 we announced that we will be reducing expenses for FY09 by over $1B from our annualized expense run rate, given the challenging macroeconomic environment. We are targeting reductions in travel and discretionary-related expenses, including offsite meetings, outside services, equipment, events, trade shows, prototypes, marketing and other activities. Given this focus on reducing costs, we are modifying our participation in the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January 2009.

We have several speakers presenting in the various CES sessions, and Cisco chairman and CEO John Chambers will be delivering a keynote at the conference, as well. We are focusing our CES presence on our direct customers, press and analysts in order to create a more intimate event and reduce expenses. We look forward to an exciting CES 2009 with multiple product announcements that will reinforce Cisco’s consumer strategy. We remain committed to the consumer market, and we believe our cost control focus at this time is appropriate. In support of our CES presence, we will be utilizing Cisco’s world-class Web 2.0 collaboration technologies, such as TelePresence and WebEx, to maintain essential customer and partner communication. Cisco will have compelling demonstration areas and meeting rooms in the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas as we have for the past several years.”

Bailing on Big Tech Trade Shows

John Paczkowski — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 19:00:43 +0000

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