Logitech confirms no plans for new Google TV Revue after $100 million bath
Logitech has confirmed that it has no plans to release a new Google TV-based Revue after implementation mistakes surrounding the device cost the company $100 million in operating profits.
Speaking at an Analyst and Investor Day earlier this week, Chief Executive Guerrino De Luca recounted the company's missteps that led to the Revue's failure, according to The Verge.
De Luca said Logitech had finally "brought closure to the Logitech Revue saga" with plans to clear out inventory this quarter. He candidly admitted that last year's holiday launch was "a mistake of implementation of a gigantic nature."
The executive laid some of the blame on Google for treating Google TV as beta software that could be iterated after launch. Logitech "executed a full scale launch with a beta product and it cost us dearly," De Luca said.
"To make the long story short, we thought we had invented [sliced] bread and we just made them. [We made a commitment to] just build a lot because we expected everybody to line up for Christmas and buy these boxes [at] $300 [...] that was a big mistake," the publication reported him as saying.
Logitech struggled to sell the Revue as reviewers dismissed the Google TV platform as a step "in the wrong direction." Journalist Walt Mossberg went so far as to label Google TV his second worst-reviewed product of 2010.
After "very modest sales" of the Revue early this year, the company decided to cut its losses and sell the device below cost for $99. At one point, returns from unhappy customers outweighed sales of the set-top box. Then CEO Gerald P. Quindlen was ousted because of a $29.6 million quarterly loss that the Revue was partly to blame for. All told, De Luca believes mistakes surrounding the Revue, combined with "operational miscues" in the EMEA region, cost Logitech "well over $100 million in operating profits."
Late last month, Google released an update to Google TV, adding improved support for the Android Market application store. The new version focused on making it more easy for users to "find something worth watching." The company first showed off Google TV last May.
On a more upbeat note, De Luca did express a belief that Google TV will eventually succeed at some point, but he said it would probably be a "grandchild" of the product. For now, Logitech is looking to learn from its mistakes and will sit "on the bench" while Google improves the platform.
The Revue's fate comes as another cautionary tale in the TV market. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs himself admitted that many others have tried and failed to find a viable market for set-top boxes.
"Ask Tivo, ask Replay TV, ask Roku, ask Vudu, ask us, ask Google in a few months," Jobs said last year before Google TV had even been released. According to him, the problem is that there are too many boxes, remotes, and individual interfaces involved in the living room.
"The only way that's ever going to change," Jobs said, "is if you can really go back to square one, tear up the set top box, redesign it from scratch with a consistent UI across all these different functions, and get it to consumers in a way that they're willing to pay for it. And right now there's no way to do that."
Recent indications suggest that Jobs found a way to do just that. He told his biographer during an interview that he had "cracked" the secret for an innovative interface on an Apple-branded television.
Apple has seen better than expected success with last year's $99 redesign of the Apple TV set-top box, but the device still remains a "hobby." However, according to one analyst, Apple's TV hobby could go "pro" if it incorporated iOS with Siri and FaceTime into a high-definition television set. Such a device could provide a significant new revenue stream for Apple, as the LCD TV market is expected to top $100 billion next year.
Speaking at an Analyst and Investor Day earlier this week, Chief Executive Guerrino De Luca recounted the company's missteps that led to the Revue's failure, according to The Verge.
De Luca said Logitech had finally "brought closure to the Logitech Revue saga" with plans to clear out inventory this quarter. He candidly admitted that last year's holiday launch was "a mistake of implementation of a gigantic nature."
The executive laid some of the blame on Google for treating Google TV as beta software that could be iterated after launch. Logitech "executed a full scale launch with a beta product and it cost us dearly," De Luca said.
"To make the long story short, we thought we had invented [sliced] bread and we just made them. [We made a commitment to] just build a lot because we expected everybody to line up for Christmas and buy these boxes [at] $300 [...] that was a big mistake," the publication reported him as saying.
Logitech struggled to sell the Revue as reviewers dismissed the Google TV platform as a step "in the wrong direction." Journalist Walt Mossberg went so far as to label Google TV his second worst-reviewed product of 2010.
After "very modest sales" of the Revue early this year, the company decided to cut its losses and sell the device below cost for $99. At one point, returns from unhappy customers outweighed sales of the set-top box. Then CEO Gerald P. Quindlen was ousted because of a $29.6 million quarterly loss that the Revue was partly to blame for. All told, De Luca believes mistakes surrounding the Revue, combined with "operational miscues" in the EMEA region, cost Logitech "well over $100 million in operating profits."
Late last month, Google released an update to Google TV, adding improved support for the Android Market application store. The new version focused on making it more easy for users to "find something worth watching." The company first showed off Google TV last May.
On a more upbeat note, De Luca did express a belief that Google TV will eventually succeed at some point, but he said it would probably be a "grandchild" of the product. For now, Logitech is looking to learn from its mistakes and will sit "on the bench" while Google improves the platform.
The Revue's fate comes as another cautionary tale in the TV market. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs himself admitted that many others have tried and failed to find a viable market for set-top boxes.
"Ask Tivo, ask Replay TV, ask Roku, ask Vudu, ask us, ask Google in a few months," Jobs said last year before Google TV had even been released. According to him, the problem is that there are too many boxes, remotes, and individual interfaces involved in the living room.
"The only way that's ever going to change," Jobs said, "is if you can really go back to square one, tear up the set top box, redesign it from scratch with a consistent UI across all these different functions, and get it to consumers in a way that they're willing to pay for it. And right now there's no way to do that."
Recent indications suggest that Jobs found a way to do just that. He told his biographer during an interview that he had "cracked" the secret for an innovative interface on an Apple-branded television.
Apple has seen better than expected success with last year's $99 redesign of the Apple TV set-top box, but the device still remains a "hobby." However, according to one analyst, Apple's TV hobby could go "pro" if it incorporated iOS with Siri and FaceTime into a high-definition television set. Such a device could provide a significant new revenue stream for Apple, as the LCD TV market is expected to top $100 billion next year.
Comments
Seriously though, has the new Google TV 2.0 made it any better.
Surely there will other willing to waste money on GoogleTV.
Seriously though, has the new Google TV 2.0 made it any better.
I have the sony google tv bluray player and I think it has. They added widgets to the home screen . Which is very usefull. I just have to press the pic in pic button on the google tv remote to bring up the weather, traffic and other widgets that i downloaded.
Also since the google tv has an hdmi in I can do things like play my police scanner app while say my tv show is on commercial.
Google tv 2.0 runs most android apps. All you have to do is install the apk file for that app. Now much better media players exist for google tv because it can run android apps. Makes it much much more usefull as a media player.
Surely there will other willing to waste money on GoogleTV.
Seriously though, has the new Google TV 2.0 made it any better.
Google can't make it better. It's not about hardware or software. The problem was content getting blocked by all the content providers and with the death of mobile flash it may make content even trickier google needs a deal with Comcast and the networks, which may be where Moro comes in, until then google tv is just a cool tv interface.
Surely there will other willing to waste money on GoogleTV.
Seriously though, has the new Google TV 2.0 made it any better.
LG appears poised to step in with GoogleTV integrated into the TV itself rather than standalone.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/201...n-january.html
Google is burning through relationships.
on the other hand, it's nice to hear a CEO admit to a mistake ...
The problem here is Apple hasn't invented the solution that Google can copy.
Sure it did: Apple TV. It's just that, as Steve put it, Apple TV is a hobby. Google thought they could take the ball and run with it, but I think Steve saw something they didn't. Now, it's come back to haunt them.
Sure it did: Apple TV. It's just that, as Steve put it, Apple TV is a hobby. Google thought they could take the ball and run with it, but I think Steve saw something they didn't. Now, it's come back to haunt them.
the 2.0 software is a big leap foward. I think Logitech is giving up to soon. Google just has to make the google tv look like a pc when it talks to websites. Google is just too scared of the content creators to do it.
on the other hand, it's nice to hear a CEO admit to a mistake ...
Admitting mistakes, instead of fixing them behind the scenes is not an impressive quality in a CEO.
The problem here is Apple hasn't invented the solution that Google can copy.
Exactly.
They are also trying to "re-invent" the software part of the TV while increasing (or at least not reducing), the complexity of the hardware portion. And that never works. One could also argue that their software implementation is also more complex than plain old TV but they are specifically selling it as being simpler, so that's almost down to opinion.
To be easy to use the TV has to be simpler, Google is basically pushing this in the wrong direction. They just threw in everything including the kitchen sink and then gave us a 101 key keyboard for a remote.
They haven't really got a plan at all beyond that.
the 2.0 software is a big leap foward. I think Logitech is giving up to soon. Google just has to make the google tv look like a pc when it talks to websites. Google is just too scared of the content creators to do it.
Can't argue with your experience, but I question whether or not widgets on the home screen and Android apps will somehow make Google TV a success.
The problem is the mindset of someone watching television vs. someone using a computer or smart phone. People are willing to do some work to operate their computing devices; they want their TV experience to be completely frictionless. I don't think Google gets that, I think they think that if they can pack in enough "functionality" they'll have a winner.
And having Google TV identify itself as a PC browser isn't a matter of being "scared." Google knows that if they tried this they'd basically be going to war with the content providers. It would be in the content providers economic interests to thwart Google TV, and Google, at every opportunity. That's not what you want when you're trying to built out your mobile ecosystem.
Google can't make it better. It's not about hardware or software. The problem was content getting blocked by all the content providers and with the death of mobile flash it may make content even trickier google needs a deal with Comcast and the networks, which may be where Moro comes in, until then google tv is just a cool tv interface.
Well, I don't know how "cool" it was, but, yes, the content is the problem and the broadcast industry rightly views Google as the parasite that it is.
With none of the Google Android handset makers making any real money, I wonder when that house of cards will fall?
The only thing propping up that house of cards today is their successful search advertising business. Unravel that, and the rest will fall.
the 2.0 software is a big leap foward. I think Logitech is giving up to soon. Google just has to make the google tv look like a pc when it talks to websites. Google is just too scared of the content creators to do it.
At what point after you've already lost $100 million would you give up?
Besides, Logitech hasn't given up. They're sitting the "bench" until there is a viable product there.
I love it.
With none of the Google Android handset makers making any real money, I wonder when that house of cards will fall?
Actually BOTH Samsung and HTC continue to post record breaking profits in mobile quarter after quarter. How is that not making money? Sure, they're not making as much as apple, but no company thinking rationally EXPECTS TO (with the possible exception of Amazon). No company making android (or WP7) is built like apple is. And no, that doesn't make Apple's model the best either. Remember, Palm and Rim had/have a silo model and it failed for them
Android is what's propping up Samsung right now as they're taking losses in other divisions, and HTC is seeing 100%+ quarterly increases to revenue AND profit.
They're making a TON of money. Google's not making money on android but they give it away for free, so this isn't surprising. What they ARE making money on is advertising that they can serve to my Droid and your iphone. They're not making as much as they do with traditional search, but it's growing and they (rightly) know that the future is mobile. So instead of going all in now, they're using the profits from their existing business to invest in the future ventures (mobile and social)
Believe it or not, there's more than one right way to invest money. Apple has one way. HTC seems to have another, and google a third.
Also, it's rather sad that AI feels the need to post about this story and not about Samsung getting access to iOS source code by court order. One story is about Apple, the other isn't.