Vizio launches $99 Google TV set-top box

Dan Rayburn of StreamingMedia.com reports that Vizio's new Google TV-based Stream Player will ship in the first half of 2012, and will be priced at $99 (U.S.). According to Rayburn, the set-top box will only be sold directly by Vizio from its website, but I don't expect that to last--Vizio sells too much product through resellers such as Costco for the company to ignore that channel.

The VAP430 Stream Player uses the new ARM-based Google TV architecture, and Vizio has reskinned Google TV's user interface. It will have HDMI in and out (so it can be connected to a receiver or A/V amplifier in-line with another set-top box or other device without taking up an additional HDMI port), Ethernet and Wi-Fi interfaces, and a USB port that can be used to connect an external hard disk (only for playing, not recording, audio and video). It will also come with a universal remote control with both IR and Bluetooth outputs. The device will support 1080P video in and out, and Vizio claims that the device will have sufficient bandwidth to support 3D streaming.

Vizio has confirmed that the Stream Player will support Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus, HBO Go (for existing HBO subscribers), YouTube, Pandora, Technicolor's new M-GO streaming video service, and others. Additional services will be announced by the time the device ships.

On paper, Vizio has hit all the right notes: The Stream Player will be priced competitively with Apple and Roku, it will run a more polished version of Google TV, and it can be connected in-line with the user's existing cable, satellite or IPTV set-top box, instead of requiring a separate HDMI connection. It remains to be seen how well the device works when it gets into the hands of consumers, and whether Google and Vizio have smoothed out the many rough spots in Google TV's user interface. If it works well, it'll help put Google TV back into the thick of the over-the-top set-top box competition.

Logitech halts manufacturing of its Google TV-based Revue: The question is, will it ever resume?

This one slipped past me on Christmas Eve, but DigiTimes reported that Logitech has told the manufacturer of the Google TV-based Revue, Gigabyte, to halt manufacturing until the beginning of February, 2011 at the earliest. Google has asked its partners not to show new Google TV devices at January's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, because it's working on improved software.

Update, 27 December: In response to the DigiTimes article, Logitech issued a very nuanced statement to Barron's, a daily financial newspaper owned by the Wall Street Journal. Logitech said that Google did not ask the company to suspend its shipments of the Revue. It says that it is continuing to ship "products" to its customers (although the statement doesn't name the Revue as one of the products), and that it doesn't comment on specific production plans for any of its products. In other words, Logitech doesn't deny the DigiTimes report, nor does it confirm that it's specifically fulfilling new orders of the Revue to anyone.

I anticipated all of this when Google TV was first demonstrated. It was clearly rushed to market, with little to no coordination with other product teams within Google, no third-party apps and little third-party content. The question now is, even if Google improves the Google TV software platform, will Logitech restart production, and will the other companies (including Toshiba, LG Electronics, Sharp and Vizio) that were working on Google TV products follow through with their plans?

U.S. holiday buyers are avoiding high-end consumer electronics

Yesterday, the price of Best Buy's stock plunged on the company's report of lower year-to-year sales for its fiscal Q3, and expected lower sales for the entire year. Analysts said that Best Buy poorly merchandised its "Black Friday" deals, while the company said that it deliberately decided not to offer the "third tier" (their term) consumer electronic brands and deals that Walmart and Target offered.

Even though the U.S. Commerce Department reported that overall retail sales rose 0.8% in November, consumers were much smarter about their Black Friday purchases this year. Historically, retailers have offered a limited number of low-priced products on Black Friday, expecting customers who find the product they want to be sold out to buy more expensive (and profitable) products. This year, consumers either walked out without buying anything if the bargain they were looking for was sold out, or put so much pressure on store management that they were allowed to purchase more expensive products at the price of the sold-out models.

At the same time, ECN Magazine is reporting that consumers are avoiding 3D and Internet-enabled HDTVs. The article quotes a fund investor who questions the logic of CE companies pushing expensive new 3D HDTVs just a year or two after most people purchased their first big-screen HDTVs. Consumers don't see the value proposition, especially in a still-fragile econony. In addition, consumers are put off by the requirement to purchase expensive 3D glasses for every person who wants to watch. There's also a dearth of 3D content, and consumers are afraid of becoming nauseated or getting headaches if they watch 3D.

In addition, consumers are avoiding Internet-enabled HDTVs if they're priced significantly higher than comparable non-networked devices. They realize that they can add Internet connectivity by purchasing an Apple TV or an Internet-enabled Blu-Ray player (some of which are available for under $100). They're also comparing the prices of those products with Google TV-enabled devices, and are going with the less-expensive products. As with 3D, they don't get Google TV's value proposition and can't justify the higher price.

What does it all mean? 3D HDTV won't really take off until an economical, reliable system that doesn't require glasses is available--which is what the CE industry should have waited for in the first place. As for Google TV, it may already be dead, but it certainly won't take off until the price is $99 or less. Google and its partners had no good reason to rush the products, which were clearly half-baked, into the market so soon. By the time they fix their many problems, consumers will have moved on.