At Europe’s biggest web gathering in December, Eric Schmidt promised: “By the summer of 2012, the majority of the televisions you see in stores will have Google TV embedded in it.”
Now that the summer solstice has passed and summer is in full swing, how has Google progressed toward that goal?
Well, there are currently four Google TV devices, including only two integrated TVs – some way behind the target.
When asked for a list of Google TV-compatible gadgets, Google pointed paidContent to Google TV’s web page, listing only Sony’s NSZ-GS7, replacing its predecessor NSZ-GT1. Others, however, are Vizio’s Co-Star box and two LG TV sets.
What went wrong, Eric? A Google spokesperson tells paidContent:
“As with any Google product, we have very aggressive targets, but you’ll just have to stay tuned for future announcements about our progress in the smart TV space. As of today, we’re excited to bring new products to the market in 2012.”
Buoyed by Android’s widespread adoption by smartphone manufacturers, Schmidt believed gaining Google TV carriage would be almost as inevitable. But the reality has so far turned out differently.
Google’s spokesperson did not refer to upcoming Google TV products, but they include Sony’s NSZ-GP9, a Blu-ray player with Google TV.
Logitech’s Google TV-compatible Revue was cancelled in November and Sony cancelled four integrated Google TVs in February.
We are, however, confident that Google is, of course, currently negotiating with some other electronics makers to try bringing more Google TVs to market.
“There’s a significant number of OEM coming out that we’re working with that we’re not at liberty to discuss at this point,” said Guarav Shah, general manager for Marvell’s digital entertainment Business unit, said this week (via Betanews).
“Moving from the middle of July through the rest of the year, there will be other OEMs announcing their products.”