Letter to Sergey Brin and Larry Page: After the upgrade I still can’t recommend GoogleTV. Somebody, for your own sake, figure out how to make the perfect TV. Our money is just sitting in wait.
Dear Sergey Brin and Larry Page,
I know you read my blog. You know how I know? Because just last week I wrote this scathing piece on GoogleTV, and you came out with a system upgrade a few days later. I didn’t expect you to respond so fast! You are amazing.
There’s one problem… you didn’t read my piece closely enough. You must have skipped this part:
GoogleTV is so unnatural to use as a web browser that I hardly try any more. It’s so much more efficient to just use a laptop. The Google Chrome app crashes frequently when loading pages (this is nothing like the computer version of Chrome, which is awesome). It is a chore to switch between tabs. First you need to hold down the Home button for a second. Then you need to push on the directional pad. Then you need to push Select. This was truly designed by an idiot. On a computer all I need to do is use a trackpad and click. Most asinine of all: when you type in a search term in Chrome and press the Enter button, you are not brought to the Google search results page. Google directs you instead to TV shows and movies relevant to your search terms. For example, if you search for “margin call”, GoogleTV will bring you to the TV show “Margin Call” rather than what you are more likely interested in… an explanation of what the financial term means. For the love of God, please fix this!
And you also must have skipped this part:
GoogleTV’s browser cannot open PDF files, but I figured that an update would come.
Come on, Sergey and Larry. I know you’re busy thinking about Tesla electric cars, buying prime office space in Chelsea, producing low-budget movies and overpaying for a mediocre cell phone company. But pay attention when you read my blog.
ALL KIDDING ASIDE… if Google doesn’t make the fixes I recommend, somebody else will. We know that Apple is working on an Internet-enabled TV. Just as the iPod disrupted the digital music player business and the iPhone disrupted the cell phone business, I believe that a TV designed by Apple will disrupt the TV business. This is a huge market. To give you a sense of scale, think about this fact: by the end of 2011, annual LCD television sales will have surpassed 200 million units. Let’s just assume the average selling price per unit is $500. That works out to $100 billion!
I’ve thought of some other improvements to make:
The keyboard included with every GoogleTV MUST be full-size. No more of this handheld keyboard piece of shit.
The full-size keyboard should come with a full-size trackpad–just like the base of a laptop.
The voice-control feature should be activated by holding down the space bar for a couple seconds. This is the most convenient place for it. Absolute genius!
i did not post the comment but you are comparing existing products like google TV to what apple would do and assert that Apple’s product is going to be destroy the competition, without having any idea the features or design.
I would dial that a bit down.
I’m not going to dial back anything because I see what’s coming.
Do you think it is wise not to expect Apple to crush everybody else in this? I see another industry where the incumbents are asleep at the wheel. And it will be easy to sink them into oblivion. You should hope I’m right. Our experience with technology will be a lot better.
maybe or maybe not. this is not a view on apple. I do not care either way. with technology the only thing I am certain of is today’s technology is tomorrows roadkill. assert all you want