#FF00AA

Looking seriously undercooked — I shouldn’t be surprised, but I’d gotten used to the idea that Android could reasonably said to be catching up with iOS, and kinda expected Google TV to work better out of the box. Not that I don’t realize that this is more functional than the new Apple TV, but it’s more expensive, more cumbersome to use, and basically it’s just a poorly-designed computer for your TV. That’s been done to death already.

I can’t believe this thing includes neither a DVR, nor even a tuner. I realize that the early adopters of such a device already have a DVR and everything, and would be reluctant to pay for one again, but I find it just absurd to imagine that this thing relies on an IR blaster to control your cable tuner. And that they’re content to sell a device that lets you search for upcoming shows, but isn’t able to program them into your DVR itself. Who’s seriously going to shell out $300 for this?

Again, it’s early, but it’s hard to imagine why you’d want to use a pokey TV app when you likely have much faster smartphone and laptop apps sitting within arm’s reach.

And, if you’ve got an iPhone or iPad, using it to send video to your big screen is just a cheap Apple TV (and a November software update) away. I’ve suddenly got much more respect for AirPlay.