The first company that made something like this which worked 'out of the box' with YouTube, Netflix, BBC, Skype and sold for $50 (ie $100 at Worst Buy) would do very well.
There are a lot of TV shows being watched on iPads because hooking up the big screen TV to a computer is too much effort / inconvenient for 'normal' people.
What you just described is Google TV (Logitech Revue). It's Android 3.0, works "out of the box" with YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Video apps preinstalled and most every streaming site other than Hulu. No Skype but it did include its own video chat app. And it was $99 at Best Buy.
The product was a commercial failure. Logitech discontinued it last year. It's still available in some stores and online but once the stock is gone, it's gone.
> It wasn't $99 at bestbuy, it was $300 when it was released
It was also $99 at Best Buy. It wasn't successful at that price either. Today's iPhone sales aren't determined by its initial pricing in 2007.
> Also it's still not $99, it's going for $150
That's a 3rd party seller listing because Amazon is sold out. Amazon has it refurbished for $99, which is probably just old stock stores sent back to Logitech, which they sent back out for sale with "Now with Android 3.0" stickers added to the boxes.
Even if it's not, it's essentially the same price as pre-ordering this mystery box, yet comes with and does much more.
The OP of this thread said that a ready-to-go box selling @ $50 would sell like pancakes. You mentioned the Logitech Revue as having already been that, but you are completely wrong, it was never $99 at bestbuy, it was $299, then $249 and then discontinued.
The Logitech Revue never retailed at $99 like you are trying to pass off as being true, sure now that they are discontinued you can find them refurbished on Amazon at that price but it's not the same thing and doesn't rebut the OPs point.
What an asshole. I do not appreciate being called a liar by an egotistical fool passing off his own misinformation as a correction. I have said nothing untrue or dishonest. Yours is one of the most angering posts I've read on HN in 4+ years.
The Revue retailed for $99 new for almost a year, since mid 2011, until stores ran out of stock. Here's the announcement direct from Logitech's VP, Digital Home Group, about the retail price drop to $99 at all stores:
Best Buy carried it at $299, $249, $129, and $99 all in new condition. The $99 price was in early 2011, raised to $129 in November 2011, and dropped back to $99 before going out of stock. You can find these price points in Google through mentions on sites like Slickdeals that tracked the price drops.
Sears carried it for $99. Newegg carried it for $99. I'm sure other stores did too. You can still buy it new for $99 from TigerDirect.
Next time you feel compelled to call someone out as a liar, be damned sure you're actually right about it.
You're right when you say Netflix Canada offers very little in comparsion to Netflix US; but Google TV does not require any accounts that are only available to US customers. That is also wrong. You just need ANY google account. You can make one when you purchase the device.
Ok, they either changed the rules or I misread them.
But it's why an opensource solution is the only thing that would work. Netflix aren't going to have good Youtube support and Amazon aren't going to do a good job of Netflix, neither will do the BBC. And when some online service marginally changes its system - a cheap HW maker like Logitech isn't going to put effort into an update.
I think you can buy a cheap blu-ray player with internet access for not much more than that. No keyboard, but you can still watch YouTube, Netflix etc with basically no set up required.
Comments
The first company that made something like this which worked 'out of the box' with YouTube, Netflix, BBC, Skype and sold for $50 (ie $100 at Worst Buy) would do very well.
There are a lot of TV shows being watched on iPads because hooking up the big screen TV to a computer is too much effort / inconvenient for 'normal' people.
What you just described is Google TV (Logitech Revue). It's Android 3.0, works "out of the box" with YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Video apps preinstalled and most every streaming site other than Hulu. No Skype but it did include its own video chat app. And it was $99 at Best Buy.
The product was a commercial failure. Logitech discontinued it last year. It's still available in some stores and online but once the stock is gone, it's gone.
It wasn't $99 at bestbuy, it was $300 when it was released, which is a big part of why it failed. http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/08/logitech-revue-with-googl...
Also it's still not $99, it's going for $150 new http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Companion-Google-Keyboard-Con...
> It wasn't $99 at bestbuy, it was $300 when it was released
It was also $99 at Best Buy. It wasn't successful at that price either. Today's iPhone sales aren't determined by its initial pricing in 2007.
> Also it's still not $99, it's going for $150
That's a 3rd party seller listing because Amazon is sold out. Amazon has it refurbished for $99, which is probably just old stock stores sent back to Logitech, which they sent back out for sale with "Now with Android 3.0" stickers added to the boxes.
Even if it's not, it's essentially the same price as pre-ordering this mystery box, yet comes with and does much more.
The OP of this thread said that a ready-to-go box selling @ $50 would sell like pancakes. You mentioned the Logitech Revue as having already been that, but you are completely wrong, it was never $99 at bestbuy, it was $299, then $249 and then discontinued.
More proof here that Logitech didn't get that ~$300 was too high a price point for something like this http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/29/logitechs-disappointing-q...
The Logitech Revue never retailed at $99 like you are trying to pass off as being true, sure now that they are discontinued you can find them refurbished on Amazon at that price but it's not the same thing and doesn't rebut the OPs point.
What an asshole. I do not appreciate being called a liar by an egotistical fool passing off his own misinformation as a correction. I have said nothing untrue or dishonest. Yours is one of the most angering posts I've read on HN in 4+ years.
The Revue retailed for $99 new for almost a year, since mid 2011, until stores ran out of stock. Here's the announcement direct from Logitech's VP, Digital Home Group, about the retail price drop to $99 at all stores:
http://blog.logitech.com/2011/07/31/logitech-revue-now-99/
Best Buy carried it at $299, $249, $129, and $99 all in new condition. The $99 price was in early 2011, raised to $129 in November 2011, and dropped back to $99 before going out of stock. You can find these price points in Google through mentions on sites like Slickdeals that tracked the price drops.
Sears carried it for $99. Newegg carried it for $99. I'm sure other stores did too. You can still buy it new for $99 from TigerDirect.
Next time you feel compelled to call someone out as a liar, be damned sure you're actually right about it.
And like most of the systems it only worked in the US
This is not true. I'm in Canada, and it works just fine.
Ok - I didn't buy one because it required a GooglePlay/TV (?) account that was only available in the US.
But having seen what Netflix Canada offers I'm not too bothered!
You're right when you say Netflix Canada offers very little in comparsion to Netflix US; but Google TV does not require any accounts that are only available to US customers. That is also wrong. You just need ANY google account. You can make one when you purchase the device.
Ok, they either changed the rules or I misread them.
But it's why an opensource solution is the only thing that would work. Netflix aren't going to have good Youtube support and Amazon aren't going to do a good job of Netflix, neither will do the BBC. And when some online service marginally changes its system - a cheap HW maker like Logitech isn't going to put effort into an update.
I think you can buy a cheap blu-ray player with internet access for not much more than that. No keyboard, but you can still watch YouTube, Netflix etc with basically no set up required.