Several of my analyst and journalist friends in San Francisco are raving about Google TV. When it was unveiled at Google I/O, I thought it was cool and had lots of potential. My friends have proclaimed it the messiah, thinking that it’s a huge step in combating the dreadful service and awful prices of cable companies. I’m not so sure.
Don’t get me wrong. I hate cable providers (especially Comcast *snicker*), but I’m not convinced that Google can completely disrupt the market. Earlier in the year, it tried to change the way mobile phones were sold with the Nexus One. Partially due to Google’s poor execution and partially due to the stranglehold telecom companies have on the biz, it didn’t work. I can see something similar happening with Google TV. The big difference is that Google TV will have some longterm success thanks to powerful hardware and network partners. I just disagree with my friends that it will change the game.
Anyway, I want to know if you give a damn about Google TV. Is it a major step in changing the television game? Are you interested in the product? Are my friends in San Francisco smoking something funny? Or are they just getting geeked up because they live in the most awesome geek bubble in the world?
i honestly need to do more research on exactly what Google TV is and does. If it allows me to stream video content off of the web and onto my tv then I could see some of the advantages in that. I'd have a slew of new questions though.
Ultimately this won't make a dent in the present market. Cable companies or whoever will put a data cap on a home service in addition to Google TV code being modified to limit options. kinda like Android.
@ SG
That is a nice theory about the codes being modded by different providers.
I hate comcast. The one thing I would have to say about something like this is that to catch on not only does it need to be good, but it needs to be everywhere. I don't even know everything that it offers but I would do anything to get away from comcast.
Unfortunately not everyone is in a big area where these services would be provided, my area for instance is horrible. My apartment has to get comcast because they are the only service around that I know of that will provide both internet and cable. To get away from comcast I would have to find a small and shitty ISP around here (I've dealt with some of the small ones in this area before and haven't found anyone intelligent yet) and direcTV. That's about my only other option. My parents can only get cable through comcast where they live as well. Too many people are trapped by comcast's bad pricing and horrendous service (my internet went out three times within an hour the other day) and they say there is nothing they can do about it.
I would almost be completely on board with Google TV if they got their fiber optic network up and running as well and they simply made themselves available. I don't even need to know what they offer, as long as it is better than comcast.
@bsu
have you tried Clear for your internet??? My Gf has it and it seems to run pretty well. Idk if they have it available in your area but i hear that the 4G service they offer is pretty fast and good for gaming
@Tokz
I might have to look into that. Unfortunately my roommate probably won't want to change anything because he would rather not have to go through any hassle to get decent service and he doesn't really care as much about actually getting a decent service for his money. Next summer when I move up closer to your area my fiance (then wife) will let me choose where we get our service from so I will be looking for something good. I am looking forward to that!
@tokz_21 WiMax can be acceptable for gaming, but the pings will never be as good as wired lines. Building penetration could be an issue too.
@rpad
that's what she said!!! wait…. you're talking about actual buildings not buidling penetration, right?
@BSU
Google TV is not a service. Google will not run fiber to support it.
@Smartguy
I was referring to their fiber optic network that they are supposed to be testing somewhere in the US now which will provide internet service with speeds around 1gb per second. Didn't mean to make it sound like they were running Google TV through a fiber optic network, just mentioning two separate Google services that I would like to have available in my area.
@BSU
ah. I don't think Google will lay one foot of fiber that isn't for their own infrastructure. I think that announcement was solely for PR. They received tons of praise and still do without doing anything lol.
@Smartguy
Perhaps. I have never heard anything officially about a test city actually being chosen for their network. I know Muncie (my current city) was trying to get them to come here (it was a big thing a few months back for all these cities to try and get Google to come test the fiber optic network in their city). Who knows what they are doing about it though. It would be nice to have an ISP that provided 1gb per second though, I would sign up for that in a heartbeat, granted it would probably cost as much as I could sell my heart for on the black market! haha.
@BSU
I honestly think Google would have some serious problems laying that fiber. Can you imagine the value of the real estate if that were to happen? The town/city could potentially become a huge tech commercial zone.