The price is light: Hardware discount suggests trouble for Google TV

It might just be the season for deep discounts anyway, but industry soothsayers see something more ominous in Sony's (NYSE: SNE) cut-to-the-bone price reductions for its Blu-Ray Google TV (Nasdaq: GOOG) unit.

"Sony's combination Blu-Ray and Google TV device was just introduced last month, making the slashed price ($100 off suggested retail of $399) an indication that the devices weren't garnering much attention despite the media attention focused on Google TV and its use of Android," crowed Apple Insider, which also cited Google's problems getting broadcaster buy-in as yet another sign that things have gone sour.

Google TV was seen in some quarters as the flag bearer for open system over-the-top video competition. It offered an integrated Web browser with searchable cable TV and Internet streaming content, but it's been stymied getting cable and broadcast content "and the remaining features of the device put it in the category of Microsoft's beleaguered Media Center, but lacking that platform's integrated IPTV tuner and TiVo-like DVR playback features," the Apple site concluded.

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