Google TV failed because no one wants to hook up a keyboard to their TV. The model is 100% wrong.
They have Google Voice Search, and they didn't even use it for Google TV. They could use that for saying commands and doing the searches on Google by speaking to it..
But I don't even think that should be the main way to interact with Google TV. I know they've been working on Kinect-like stuff for Android and that they hired I believe the former tech lead from Kinect, so I think they should be using Kinect-like technology to allow you to use the Google TV interface with your hands.
Would those 2 be the perfect interaction models for Google TV? I don't know. But I think it sounds a whole lot better than using a full QWERTY keyboard.
I think the lack of content hurt Google TV, too. Did they even have Netflix at launch? I think they didn't. I know Hulu is up for sale. It might be a good idea to buy them.
I also think video chatting on TV is pretty revolutionary and might be a huge thing in the future, so they should take advantage of that with GTalk. The only problem I see here is that people will have to buy cameras for their TV's, too, so adoption for that might be a little slow, but it would get there.
I do know that there are a bunch of people playing with the Kinect controller for navigating TV but I think you'll see this with a future Xbox rev first. Microsoft has TV platforms in the past (Media Center and traditional cable style guides etc). I think its much more likely to see this type of innovation come from MS in the Xbox, since they can do a lot of this with software and already have millions of boxes already hooked up in peoples living rooms.
I just bought the add-on camera for my Sony flatscreen, which has a Skype application built in. It is in fact a very convenient way to video chat, compared with using a laptop. I am sure cams will be built into the TVs from the next generation or two.
google tv failed because its extra value was extremely quickly killed by the content providers. if it didn't affect anyone, content providers wouldn't have lifted a finger
In my humble opinion, the area where Google TV really kills is in media aggregation. I can enter a few search terms, and suddenly video, audio, and who knows what else is available on my big screen TV. Is it on Netflix? Is it on Youtube? Is it on Amazon? It doesn't matter. I just search in one place and press play. Ultimately, this list will include Hulu, ABC, NBC, Comedy Central, Fox, et al. We will have to wait for the content providers to decide that advertising to web viewers is just as worthwhile as advertising to cable viewers.
Imagine a TV experience where everything is video on demand from thousands of sources, but searchable from one place. You won't even need a cable subscription.
No it won't, None of the large networks are moving to this model anytime soon. This is not a matter of loss of ad dollars its a matter of loss of subscription revenue. Cable Networks pay the networks to carry their content (ESPN make $4B a year in cable fees) and ad dollars on the web in no way make up for this loss in revenue. You may end up getting everything on demand some day, but you will be paying a subscription for it.
Pretty much every normal person who sees it in action, pause live tv, bring up wikipedia to look something up to answer a question, or pull up youtube to listen to the original of a song before listening to it on The Voice, pull up a Brian Wilson interview during a Giants game commercial -- all without changing context, just with this same little remote, to a person they have all said "I want this".
But the SW just hasn't been fully baked as of yet, it crashes, it halts, it ignores inputs, and the UI is confusing for first time users. All of its problems and issues are primarily SW related. At least for the TV, the paradigm and design are very correct, I think, and quite powerful.
E.g. I can separately look up supplemental information on my handheld device and then, if there's something I want to share with the rest of the people in the room, I can: verbally share it, pass the device around, or (with Apple TV, which I'm fairly pleased with, but certainly isn't perfect) beam that info up to the big screen via AirPlay. I'd hate to subject my viewing-mates to watching me fiddle with a UI that overlays and takes screen space/otherwise distracts from the thing they're trying to watch.
tl;dr: Why would I want wikipedia on my TV when I've got it on my phone?
But what I have found with viewing mates is actually quite the opposite -- looking something up and verbally telling them/passing the device is I think a much less pleasant and engaging way of doing things -- unless perhaps you are the one looking them up.
If you are the controller its fine -- but for the other people in the room I think it can be pretty annoying. I have found it actually more enjoyable for the group to watch the interaction and to be a part of things. It is more communal. I think we underestimate how boring it is to watch someone sitting on a couch with a computer and wait for an answer with no idea where they are in the information retrieval process, unable to suggest they click on some other link, and unable to be a part of it.
tldr: I think people actually like the internet, and don't mind looking at it when they have a reason to want something from it. Doing this in the relaxed, living room, communal viewing context is a pleasant, conversation invoking experience.
EDIT: I should add -- this must be used wisely and with discretion. The ability to turn your TV into the internet is a powerful thing, with great potential for annoyance, and one not to be abused. I find myself doing it with guests not when I have a question, or remember something on the internet that relates to something -- but when they do.
With great power comes great responsibility.
You're pretty confident to call the model 100% wrong.
Have you used a Google TV for a substantial amount of time?
This is in contrast to the Boxee remote which I like which is a normal remote but has a keyboard on the back.
NOTE: I use the Logitech GoogleTV remote, not the Sony TV "Big Ass Playstation Controller" remote. The Sony one, theoretically, may be easier to use.