They keep pulling us back in — Logitech’s latest Google TV ad takes a different, and yet still stalker related tack to sell users on the viability of search and web in their living room, focusing on the Kevin Bacon obsessed (and incredibly familiar looking) Ivan Cobenk. The main gist is that the Google TV is the key to easily finding your favorite video content, wherever it is… along with the slight danger of turning into Kevin Bacon. Give it a watch, while we’re still not totally sure the Revue belongs in every living room this bit is far more convincing than the old screaming anthromophized HDTV.
One of the many gripes about Google TV so far has been the ancient version of Netflix’s Watch Instantly app it shipped with, but Scott Greczkowski from Satellite Guys appears to be the first to receive a new version on his Logitech Revue. Pictured above, it seems to reflect one of the (many) versions of the PS3 Netflix app, with queue management and search functions available. Android Central notes that the last update arrived less than a week after the date of the build and this one is marked November 22 so hopefully it should arrive any day now, until then check out the video (embedded after the break) or more pics at the source link.
We have high hopes that Google TV will evolve into something magical and wondrous over the next year or so as its namesake adds apps and features to flesh out the platform’s somewhat underwhelming current state. Today, though, it just got a little less attractive thanks to a move by Viacom to block full episodes from streaming on your Logitech Revues and your Sony Internet TVs and the like. We’ve confirmed with our own Revue that attempting to stream episodes from network sites like MTV, Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central show messages like “this content is not available for your device,” which is an unfortunate and frustrating change. Yes, the user agent tweak still works, but wouldn’t it be nice if we could all just get along? Surely Google is still working on its content partnership agreements and hopefully things will improve in the future, but given how friendly the company’s past dealings with Viacom have been we’re not optimistic about this particular front.
You may have been lucky and able to find one floating around before now, but Logitech has just officially announced that its Mini Controller for Google TV is now widely available for purchase. As you’ll recall, the controller is basically just a Google TV-friendly version of Logitech’s classic diNovo Mini controller, and a decidedly smaller alternative to the standard keyboard that comes with the Logitech Revue. At $130, though, it’s not exactly a cheap alternative — head on past the break for a brief video of the controller courtesy of Logitech, and don’t forget to check out our hands-on with it right here.
There’s no surprise on the pricing front ($179 for the normally $299 Logitech Revue, plus $4/month service fee) but today Dish Network officially started offering the integrated Google TV experience for its customers. The $4 fee applies to and will work with Sony’s Google TV devices as well, but the Revue is the only unit to get a price break up front. Dish is so far the sole TV provider that will let Google TV search through and control its compatible DVRs, and it’s put up a video demo to show how that works (embedded after the break.) Beyond the continuing questions about the Google TV platform itself, we’ll wait and see if Dish got the price right, those interested can check the press release for details on how to sign up.
The Logitech Revue is in many ways the flagship Google TV launch device. While Sony integrated Google’s new media platform into its line of Internet TVs and the Internet TV Blu-ray player, the Revue is a dedicated Google TV device, albeit with a few additional features like optional an optional video calling camera. It’s also the cheapest, at $299, and possibly the easiest to add into an existing A/V system, since it has Logitech’s Harmony universal remote technology built-in. We’ve already covered Google TV as a platform, so let’s take a closer look at the Revue to see if Logitech’s riff on the connected TV is worthy of its lead-dog status. Read on for the full… Revue review!
Revue owners, have you been frustrated by some of the framerate issues? We hear ya, as do Google and Logitech. The latter said in an official post earlier today that an over-the-air update would arrive to fix such an issue, and like that, our Google TV box prompted us to download a 163MB file denoted update 39953. We’ve heard from a number of tipsters, too, who claim to have received the patch. Will this fix all the stuttering? We’re hearing mostly yeas in that regard, so don’t be shy, give the set-top another go — and let us know if you see anything else that’s new or improved.
Gadgets of all sorts are now being made in solar powered variations, and now you can add keyboards to that growing list. Logitech recently unveiled its upcoming Wireless Solar Keyboard K750, which will begin shipping later in the month.
The wireless keyboard features integrated solar panels that power it up whenever it’s near light. And once charged, it can last for a long time. Logitech claims that the keyboard can operate for up to three months in total darkness. There’s even a downloadable app that lets you measure ambient light and check battery levels. It’s also just 1/3 of an inch thick and will cost $79.99.
With its brand-new Google TV Blu-ray Players and much-loved universal remotes, you might think Logitech would let its well-established business in keyboard and mice coast a little bit. Instead, they’re coming out with a new wireless keyboard with a new wireless charger: the Sun.
Actually, that’s not quite true. The Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 may have solar in its name, but let’s face it: how much typing on a full-sized keyboard do most of us do in bright sunlight? Thankfully, “solar” here are a shorthand for “powered by any light source whatsoever,” including the bare-incandescent bulb in your dank basement office.
Disclosure: I have a Logitech DiNovo wireless keyboard that I love, although I’m indifferent towards its plug-in charging cradle, which always seems to get unplugged when someone else in my house needs an outlet. I also have a solar-powered calculator from elementary school that I’ve loved since before puberty. So even though I have neither seen or used this keyboard, I am predisposed to be enthusiastic about it, in the hope that those solar cells across the top can keep the keyboard charged at least as well as my old solar-powered calculator.
Logitech says that the keyboard “can operate for up to three months in total darkness,” and they’re not shipping it with a separate plug-in charger, so they seem pretty confident. They’re also shipping a desktop app that helps “measure ambient light in the room, gives at-a-glance information about battery levels, and even alerts you when you need more power.”
So that covers the wireless charging. For wireless connection to your computer, the K750 doesn’t use Bluetooth, but 2.4 gHz wireless, meaning that you’ll need a plug-in USB receiver. I knew it! I knew you’d have to plug something in! Oh, well. For better connectivity, I guess I’ll take it.
Below, I’ve got the Logitech promotional video, which tauts its super-thin frame, $80 price and one of the better tech catchphrases I’ve heard in a while: “If you’ve got light, you’ve got power.”
When Logitech first introduced wireless peripherals, we’d be lucky if our alkaline cells lasted a week, but these days the firm’s low-power mice can go months on a charge. Now, the company’s taken the next logical step, and made a solar keyboard. With an ultra-slim 1/3-inch profile and a full slate of laptop-style chiclet keys, the Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 isn’t your average rack of buttons to begin with, but the ambient light solar panels installed on the top of either side should mean you’ll never need to plug it in to recharge. That’s not a claim we’ll be able to test easily, of course, as the company tells us its low-power integrated circuits can theoretically run for three months even if you leave it in a dark desk drawer. It uses the same 2.4GHz Nano Unifying receiver as several other Logitech wireless products, too, meaning you’ll only need a single one of your netbook or set-top-boxes’ precious USB ports. That’s often a concern on MacBooks as well, though you can see from the prominent Windows key this particular product doesn’t quite have a Mac-friendly setup.
Though we’re obviously far away from being able to tell you how the solar panels fare in normal use, we’re typing up this article on one of the boards right now. So far, we’re loving the flat, firm feel of the slab and rounded finger-friendly indents on each key, though the QWERTY layout’s actually a little cramped for our tastes. We’ll let you know how it holds up over the long haul. Find it next month for $80, though, if you’re already sold.
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