Ahead of a rumored Apple TV relaunch, data has emerged detailing the difficult time that Google is having with TV. Citing the search giant’s own stats, GigaOm reports that less than 1 million Google TV devices -- including a Sony version and Logitech’s Revue box -- are presently in use. “It’s widely known Google TV hasn’t exactly been a success story,” GigaOm writes.
“Early CE partner Logitech lost millions on the device, and consumer feedback was mostly negative after the first devices reached the market in late 2010.” To date, Google and its partners have never said publically how many Google TV devices consumers bought. Google has said, according to GigaOm, that device activations have doubled since the Google TV 2.0 software update late last year. GigaOm also admits that the number of active TV devices doesn’t necessarily translate into sales numbers.
People could have bought Google TV devices and never turned them on, it admits. Devices that haven’t received the Google TV 2.0 update, which debuted last fall, also aren’t factored in GigaOm’s figures. “Still, the numbers clearly show that Google has some work to do,” it writes. “Even if you take into account that active devices don’t equal sold devices, it’s obvious that others have been doing far better.”