Hasta La Gadget!

Despite an optimistic launch, Google TV sales have proven less than wow-worthy

Consumers aren’t going as gaga for Google TV as manufacturers had hoped. In fact, people are flocking to return the smart TV set-top box.

Logitech International, maker of the Revue Google TV unit, announced that Revue profits were “slightly negative” last quarter as more people returned the device than purchased it.

In response, Logitech said it is going to drop the price of the Revue from $250 (a price cut from the original price of $300) to $100.

“We launched Revue with the expectation that it would generate significant sales growth in spite of a relatively high price point and the newness of both the smart TV category and the underlying platform,” Logitech chairman Guerrino De Luca said in a conference call on Thursday. “In hindsight, there are a number of things we should have done differently.”

Google TV is available through Logitech’s set-top box and a Sony HDTV and Blu-ray player. It provides access to the internet, live television programming, on-demand programming, recorded shows, pay TV, and online video clips. When Google announced Google TV last summer, the launch was surrounded with praise and positivity: smart TVs are the future of television; Google TV put Apple TV to shame. But Google TV was soon plagued by problems from major broadcast networks, preventing their content from being streamed by the set-top box and opposing a legislative proposal that would provide Google TV with easy access to cable content.

Google is not the only player in the space — there are plenty of ways to turn your TV into a web-connected powerhouse, but some are just more convenient or more fleshed out than others. For instance, LG has a similar smart TV upgraded set-top box, and Yahoo! and Samsung also have web-integrated TV offerings.

Hopefully, Logitech’s lowered price point will help spur consumer adoption of the Revue. Other set-top boxes, like the Roku box, fall in the $100 price range, a pricing level most people are better able to swallow than the close to $300 the Revue was selling at.

“There was a significant gap between our price and the value perceived by the consumer,” De Luca said during the conference call.

It’s not totally clear why users were returning the unit. In Wired.com’s roundup of HDTV streamers, the Logitech Revue came out on top, despite its hefty price tag. However, Geekdad felt that the Boxee Box was easier to use for the average consumer. The Revue was said to be the more intriguing option “if you’re a tech-head.” De Luca posited that “Google TV has not yet fully delivered to its own promises.” And perhaps, in such a tight economy, customers just felt they weren’t getting their money’s worth.

“Google TV has a number of issues beyond the demand for Internet connected televisions. There is a lot that needs to be sorted out for this type of platform to succeed and the issues are centered around business models more than around technology,” says Van Baker, Research Vice President for Gartner.

Google plans to update the Google TV software later this year.

The Vol speaker is as minimalistical as its name suggests

Hironao Tsuboi’s minimalist speaker has an equally minimal name: Vol. The speakers are simple aluminum cylinders, and their volume is adjusted by turning the edge of the speaker itself. Turning a little bit further will click this switch into the “off” position.

Vol is powered by a rechargeable lithium battery, has a jack socket for plugging in a music source, as well as a USB port and a 5V DC connection for charging.

With the actual speaker all but invisible, this might be a bad case of form beating out function, but is doesn’t really matter — Tsuboi’s design is a concept, and not available in stores.

Vol Speaker [Design Boom]

See Also:

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• Smart HD Speakers Bring the 'Sweet Spot' to You, Wherever You Are …
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Simple can sometimes be best. At least that’s how Aviiq will probably pitch its $80 USB hub. In a case

Aviiq’s Portable Charging Station is little more than a powered USB hub in a pouch, but that simplicity is also its strength. Look at it this way: when you leave for a trip, you don’t have to remember any chargers. You just grab this little powered USB hub. In its own pouch.

The design makes it a little handier than I might have suggested. Once unzipped and splayed out flat, you’ll see the charging unit with four USB sockets, along with several layered pockets through which you can route cables. Thus, it is always tidy. Just hook up your phone, iPad (it’ll put out the 10 watts required by Apple’s tablet) and any other USB-charged device and plug the other end into an outlet.

There is also a USB port which can be hooked up to a computer, letting you sync your gadgets as they feed.

Like anything else from Aviiq, the Portable Charging Station is expensive — in this case $80. That’s a lot for a powered USB hub in pouch, but if it means you never forget a charger or cable, it could be worth it.

Available now.

Portable Charging Station [Aviiq. Thanks, Pedro!]

See Also:

• Aviiq's Color-Coordinated Smart Cases Match iPad 2 Covers
• Hands-On with Aviiq's Beautiful, Expensive Folding Notebook Stand …
• Smart Cover Inspired 'Quick Stand' Is One More Thing to Carry …
• Origami-Like Folding Laptop Stand Is Perfect for In-Bed Movies …

Scott Amron’s Carabiner Key may be the final stage in key perfection

There’s no stopping serial inventor Scott Amron. After a list of innovations including the water-fountain toothbrush, the Endo fridge magnet and the painful-sounding Split Ring, he has finally solved the annoying problem of quickly putting keys onto a ring.

Behold, the Carabiner Key, a key with a carabiner built into its top loop. Now, instead of buying an extra carabiner to use as a keyring, or splitting your nails trying to thread a key onto a regular ring, you can just press and snap the Carabiner Key onto any loop you like. For those in love with confusing recursions, you could even snap it onto a normal carabiner.

Heck, you probably don’t even need a keyring. Hipster cyclists, for example, could skip the belt-mounted keychain altogether and clip the key to their parents’ basement direct to the belt-loops of their skinny jeans.

Scott is currently “taking orders” for Carabiner Key blanks, where by “taking orders” he means “taking e-mail addresses.” Given his record of bringing his neat inventions to market, you should be pretty optimistic about one day owning a Carabiner Key of your own.

Carabiner Key product page [Amron Experimental via Oh Gizmo!]

See Also:

• Coffee-Cup Collar Expands Like B-Movie Special Effect
• Split-rings
• Clever Low-Tech Toothbrush for the Lazy Scrubber
• Water Fountain Toothbrush No Longer Costs $1750
• Endo: Finally, A Useful Fridge Magnet

The Ear Force Delta headset is designed for the most serious COD fans. It even comes with game themed presets and voice prompts.

If you’ve been counting down the days to the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, here’s something that will help tide you over: these limited edition Ear Force gaming headsets.

That’s right: you can lay some claymores, hunker down, and listen to the sweet sounds of your enemies retreating with a comfy set of custom cans clamped on your ears.

Turtle Beach and Activision teamed up to create four pairs of Modern Warfare-themed headsets: DELTA, BRAVO, CHARLIE and FOXTROT (and just in case you’re wondering, my Caps Lock key did not get stuck as I was writing that).

The headsets range from the $100 FOXTROT to the $300 DELTA. FOXTROT is a wired universal gaming headset; CHARLIE, an eight speaker surround sound PC gaming headset; BRAVO, a programmable wireless pair; and DELTA is the set’s top-of-the-line Dolby 7.1 surround sound programmable wireless model.

All four headsets are compatible across Xbox 360, PC, and Playstation 3 platforms.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is set to release November 8.