After a rocky two months, Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) isn't giving up on Google TV. In fact, this morning the company is upgrading its platform in four meaningful ways:
- The Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) app now has greater access to Netflix's digital catalog for subscribers, and couch potatoes can now also manage their conventional DVD queues.
- The dual-screen feature, which allows a channel to play in a small box as you browse the Internet, is more flexible. You can now move and resize the picture box.
- Smartphones doubling as remotes for cable boxes aren't new, but now Android phones can also serve as remotes for Google TV.
- Searching for movies now scours not only the web, but also Netflix and Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN). It also offers up additional info, including summaries, casts, and snapshots.
Some may argue that these features probably should have been incorporated at launch, but Google clearly wanted to make sure that it had a product out before the holidays. Now that even Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is testing out a web-surfing DVR, companies are firing first and aiming later.
This strategy has largely backfired on Google. It was introducing hardware partners -- Intel's (Nasdaq: INTC) chips, Logitech's (Nasdaq: LOGI) set-top boxes, and Sony's (NYSE: SNE) web-enabled HDTVs -- before it had brokered deals with the major networks to make sure that they were on board.
They weren't, and Google's been left scrambling to justify the purchase of any Google TV addition into your home theater.
Sadly, all of the noise initially created by content-blocking networks will make it difficult for Google TV to be a hot seller this holiday season in any form. Google will have to regroup after the holidays, beef up its web-based content, and then give it a go with a fresher campaign next year.
The good thing about technology? While gadget may seem obsolete one year, redemption is just a refresh away. The beauty of Google TV in this case is that the hardware won't go obsolete, since updates on the software side are all that's needed for the gizmo to slowly, steadily make its way to success.
Are you surfing the web through your TV? What's your setup? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.
