Launch Of Google TV Revue A 'Big Mistake,' Logitech CEO Says

At its launch, the Logitech Revue was hailed as the "TV of the future:" by bringing Google TV to televisions everywhere, the Revue, a set top box, promised it would usher in a new age of "smarter" TVs and "reinvent interaction."

Now, Logitech CEO Guerrino De Luca is singing a decidedly different tune and offered a stark assessment of the failure of both the Revue, which Logitech will cease producing after barely a year, and Google TV.

The launch of the Google TV-powered Revue in 2010 was "a mistake of implementation of a gigantic nature," De Luca said at Logitech's recent investor event, according to The Verge. He added that expecting people to snap up the $300 device was "a big mistake."

De Luca estimated that the Revue, along with "miscues" in certain markets, cost Logitech more than $100 million in operating profits over the past year.

Crippled by glitchy software, a dearth of high-quality content, and the need for pricey hardware, Google TV has not managed to take over the smart TV market with its web-meets-television pitch. Despite Google TV's setbacks, the web giant isn't giving up. In an effort to make headway in users' living rooms, Google recently revamped its Google TV software to add more apps, simplify its interface, and improve the experience of watching YouTube on TVs (though whether users are eager to watch viral videos from their living rooms is another question).

The Verge notes that De Luca dismissed the first version of Google TV as "beta" software and said that Logitech, with the launch of the Revue, had "executed a full scale launch with a beta product and it cost us dearly."

The Revue debuted at $300 and came with a keyboard controller -- a remote control the size of a computer keyboard with over 80 buttons -- as well as a companion box that took some finagling to install. Earlier this year, Logitech cut the Revue's pricetag to $250, then dropped it again to $99.

The company admitted in a report released in July of this year that sales of the Revue were negative, with returns of the device actually higher than its "very modest sales."

Sony launched its own Google TV set last year and this device also seems to be struggling: Sony slashed the prices of its Google TV sets in August, cutting the price of its 24-inch set by more than half.

CORRECTION: This article has been updated to clarify that Logitech's $100 million loss in operating profit was not due solely to the Revue, but also attributable to "operational miscues in EMEA [Europe, the Middle East and Africa]."

Comments

[NerdyStudent]

12:49 AM on 11/14/2011

20/20 hindsight eh?

[nikhilh]

12:05 AM on 11/12/2011

Google is being run by Indians, managerially and technically. Even though Page and Schmidt are CEO and Executive Chairman of Big G, but still we can’t forget that it was Amit Singhal, an IIT Roorkey Graduate, who re-wrote the whole algorithm of Google Search Engine in 2000 which made Google the best in the industry. Then, Nikesh Arora of BHU-IT is the Chief Business Manager; Vic Goundotra is the man behind the whole Google Plus… and, many many more. Search FAMOUS INDIANS WORKING IN GOOGLE for more details.

[Postinghuff]

09:12 AM on 11/14/2011

can you please elaborate on how that relates to the failure of Google TV?

[mainway toys]

06:32 PM on 11/11/2011

That's a shame, but it sounds like Google made a mistake partnering with Logitech...who clearly had unrealistic expectations.

How could they have looked at V1 of Google TV and deduced that people would spend $300 for a piece of hardware that only does what V1 does? ....particularly when there were devices like Roku, DVD players, etc that can already do most of what the Revue currently does....for a hundred bucks or less. But most of all...why would they pull the plug on something days before it gets the GTV2 upgrade which will differentiate it from its competitors?

I bought a Revue about a month ago, and love it. The keyboard is great, and the available apps are better....Netflix, YouTube, Chrome...all vastly better than any other device I've used (Roku, PS3, and Wii). The problem is that there aren't ENOUGH apps. GTV2 with the Android Market will fix that. My family is already using the snot out the thing (cut the cord and went all Netflix several months ago)...and I'll probably snatch more up, while I can, for Xmas gifts.

[Wilkby]

05:01 PM on 11/11/2011

I bought a Logitech Revue a few months ago when in went down to $99.99. I didn't have an HDTV yet, so I kept it in the box until I got one. Well, I recently got the TV and a BluRay player that are both "Smart," and I rarely use the Revue. If I want to view something from the web that my TV can't do on its own, I just hook up my laptop to my TV through an HDMI cable. I wish I had known this ahead of time; then I could have spent the $99.99 on beer.

[anthonytaurus]

07:28 PM on 11/11/2011

YEEEAAAAH lol.. HDMI for the win.

I had been hooking my computer up to my TV since before HDMI was a twinkle in anyone's eye. I built my own desktop with video and sound in mind - nVidia and a Creative Soundblaster (yeah, loooong time ago). I hooked up the video to the TV using a S-Video to RCA cable and pumped sound through a 5.1 surround sound system connected to the PC.

I already had about 50 CDs ripped to MP3 (before downloads), when Creative was practically one of the few companies that had a program to let you rip your CDs.

I was in geek heaven with a blurry image of my Windows desktop on my cathode-ray tube television set, pumping out music, all from my PC.

Now, it's just a HDMI wire from my laptop. You guys have it so easy now lol

[nishioka]

01:49 AM on 11/12/2011

> I hooked up the video to the TV using a S-Video to RCA cable and pumped sound through a 5.1 surround sound system connected to the PC.

I did this too for MAME and the like... my friends thought I was nuts for insisting on finding a TV with s-video capability, I got the last laugh when I showed them how much better the picture looked. 2002 was a real long time ago. :)

[dennishastings]

04:41 PM on 11/11/2011

IT'S NEW!!! BUY IT NOW!!!!

No, I don't think I will.

[MrCool]

04:25 PM on 11/11/2011

It is a rare thing for Google to mess up. This was no great loss and their stock is still rising. I thought that I had read they were going to do a thing to compete with "paypal." What is with that? I can see them making money on that venture.

[JuanJeremy]

04:13 PM on 11/11/2011

tv doesnt need reinvention, that is why webtv, appletv and googletv all failed

[MrCool]

04:28 PM on 11/11/2011

Perhaps you were sleeping a few years back when it was reinvented by the FCC. The head of the FCC at that time was none other than Colin Powel's son, ( how did a man so young get such a job?). He said at the time when he made the announcement that it would be of little cost to the average American family. The new television would be a mere $350.00. The "convertor" box was $30.00 with the official government issued card. Good drief, where are my rabbit ears?

[bigpapapuff425]

05:39 PM on 11/11/2011

Are you talking about HDTV? If so, that was the best move the FCC ever made.

[kramereng]

05:37 PM on 11/11/2011

TV absolutely needs reinvention just like music needed it over a decade ago (and got it). Right now you buy a bundle of content, almost 90% of which the user doesn't want. It's incredibly frustrating searching for that content and that content is restricted to a time and channel in order to view it. That makes no sense in 2011. You should be able to search, find, and purchase or subscribe to content easily. That's what iTunes or Spotify has done for music.

[gutteringdawn]

03:34 PM on 11/11/2011

"though whether users are eager to watch viral videos from their living rooms is another question"

Seriously? No, I love watching stuff on my iphone. I bought a 3" wide tv just to replicate the experience.

Of course people would love to watch youtube in their living rooms! I do it every day on my Roku.

[Jim8]

03:23 PM on 11/11/2011

TV needs reinventing, but probably not by Google.

[HonestJohnnis]

03:21 PM on 11/11/2011

I replaced my Apple TV with the Logitech Revue when I saw it for $79 and freaking love it... trying to sell it for 200-300 bucks at launch was the bad move, not the product.

[MathGeek]

09:41 PM on 11/11/2011

Same here.....haven't turned on my apple tv or roku in months

[madcityy]

03:12 PM on 11/11/2011

sounds dumbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb

[GCurry]

03:02 PM on 11/11/2011

I wanted the Revue to work, but (a) it was too expensive, at first, and (b) more seriously, I didn't know what it was supposed to be. Poor merchandising, Logitech and Google.

Then the price dropped to $99, and rumors about a Honeycomb update trickled out. Take the plunge. Oh, it's an Android device. Oh, it integrates my old Tivo and plays nice with TV. But perhaps most importantly, it has a nice integrated universal remote, plus keyboard.

Is it a killer device? Nope, but it was worth $99 so far, and will be even more interesting with honeycomb upgrade. Plenty of room for improvement.

Somethings will never come together though. Not until someone rethinks what TV and media consumption IS from the customer side in, and has the deep pockets and leverage to redesign industry-standard interfaces. That's a role Apple would usually take.

However, once the interfaces are rationalized, a cheap android controller is going to take market share. Stay tuned.

[FabulousTahoe]

02:22 PM on 11/11/2011

I'd use google TV if it was built-in to a new TV at no extra cost, but my computer is such a perfect internet TV already, why should I pay as much as a computer costs for a set-top-box when I can just buy a cheap HDMI-capable computer and plug it into my TV?

[miamorphos]

02:42 PM on 11/11/2011

I moved away to school and started using my laptop for "television" needs. I watch almost anything I want, when I want it. I might be free from "television" forever, and so these tech companies trying to get into the t.v. business doesn't make sense to me. Why not just have really good HD streaming video and work on connecting television sets to wireless or to laptops and towers?

[Greg Albright]

02:54 PM on 11/11/2011

No... After using Kinect as my TV remote control for a year now, I can say unequivically, that the computer is an inferior tv watching device. Those TV's with the streaming services built in??? Unusably bad. With Xbox Live, NetFlix, and Hulu+ I have a package that is vastly superior to any other tv watching offering.

You know in the tv show Star Trek where they are watching a video, and they use voice commands? Yeah, it works that good. In a couple of weeks with Bing integration, this race will be over... Well all except for the Tech blog'o'sphere who will have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the 23 century:p

[nowpolitics]

02:16 PM on 11/11/2011

I disagree. The problem 'was' that Revue was over-priced by $200 at launch. Google TV as a product will succeed. At the current $99 price, Revue has been selling out at most Best Buy.

[BrunoMan]

02:04 PM on 11/11/2011

all the mind mush and it's all so corny,i hate tv now. boo hoo.

[sean62965]

02:33 PM on 11/11/2011

There are chanels that educate people. You don't have to watch the mindless BS pushed on you by the networks.
Try Nat Geo, Science, Discovery, TLC, DIY and others. Also, get a DVR or TiVo and record what you like to watch at a time you choose, when you can relax and enjoy.