Google Asks Manufacturers to Hold Off on Google TV Debut at CES

It looks like there’s been an interruption in Google’s regularly scheduled programming. The company has asked three separate television makers to hold off on their Google TV debuts at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next month after receiving a round of lukewarm reviews.

Already, both Sony and Logitech have released Internet-enabled TVs and Google TV devices, but Google has asked other companies to hold off until it can “refine the software”, reports The New York Times.

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According to the Times, “Google has asked the TV makers to delay their introductions, according to people familiar with the company’s plans, so that it can refine the software, which has received a lukewarm reception. The late request caught some of the manufacturers off guard.”

Google just released one such refinement last week, introducing a voice-controlled Android remote app, enhanced controls over split screen viewing and refined movie searches. The biggest feature of last week’s update, however, was a Netflix app that was actually worth using. No longer do Google TV users need to use a separate device to choose content to view on their Google TV. It’s problems like this that left many early users complaining that Google TV wasn’t ready for prime time and it seems that Google has heard that message.

An unusable Netflix app, however, is just the beginning. As Janko Roettgers points out at GigaOm, Google TV is missing several features that would make it a whole, usable product, such as apps. It also needs to differentiate itself embrace the idea that it is indeed a cord-cutting device and not just a tool for users to enhance pay TV service. (Currently, Google TV only works with Dish Network, further limiting its attractiveness to potential users.)

According to the Times, “TV makers have been asked to hold off on releasing products until Google completes the new version of its software, adding features like an application store,” which means we aren’t likely to see more Google TV devices until some time in early 2011.

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