Google TV is off to a really rough start. David Pogue slammed it in his review. He probably didn’t set out to slam it, but by the time he is done describing it there is no conclusion you can reach other than v. 1.0 is a bag of hurt.
Then Walt Mossberg of the WSJ has added to the chorus of jeers, pointing out how fragmented and difficult GoogleTV is to use at this point.
For the record, I am not saying that the platform is the next Google Wave and will never morph into something interesting – it might – but it really shows the importance of a seamless experience and in sweating the details to make things feel integrated and easy. But even if they get there on the UI, the jury is still out on the basic premise that underlies GoogleTV: that people want the full internet/web/browser experience in the “lean back” context of the big screen TV environment. Many have argued that the Internet is a lean forward medium (i.e. a close-up, fine-grained, interactive, text-heavy desk or lap experience) that won’t translate well into the lean-back big screen context. When I consider how easy it is to just browse YouTube videos on the $99 AppleTV box, you have to wonder if that isn’t 90% of the value for 0% of the hassle?
Simplicity counts.