Quite a lot has happened since this seemingly visionary product was first announced in May 2010. The vision was to create an interactive television overlay on top of existing internet television and WebTV sites. The possibilities of such a system were endless, and so the excitement that grew around this product was not difficult to stimulate. Essentially anything online could be integrated with your TV experience; blog posts alongside the latest episodes of your favourite show, twitter alongside political debates or general elections or sporting events, or responses to ads to play online games between viewing. The software is fully compatible with android, meaning it’s open to developers to build or adapt relevant apps, such an integrating voice recognition to change channel. Google TV officially launched October 6 last year in the US with devices from Sony and Logitech.

Google TV: can run on multiple TV connected devices

The outcome of this excitement and endless list of possibilities for our television based media consumption? Nothing short of a flop. In May last year it was estimated that Logitech sales of Google TV boxes had come a shocking 72% under target, resulting in a drop to less than half original price in July just to shift the stock. Rumoured to have cost Logitech $34 million in losses, the product was dropped unceremoniously.

But after the pre launch possibilities, why such failure? Many have blamed the “desktop” based reliance on a mouse pointer and text input. Wall Street Journal labelled it “an over-complicated geek product”. Not only this but the product has actually been heavily criticised for its search functionality, in that it is text based and cannot deal with the complexity and huge volumes of web video. For me this is an example of convergence between channels, platforms and devices going wrong. Convergence should only be driven to benefit users, taking the best features of one thing and combining them for ease of use, convenience or to open up brand new possibilities. Users comfortable with web TV are comfortable using their desktops or laptops. Those users are skilled in the nuances of finding this content. When we consume television, it is very much part of our routine and as such we expect the same comforts – notably that of scheduled and regular programming controlled by the trusty TV remote. The fact that this Google product got search wrong just highlights how far out of their comfort zone Google have ventured with this product and it shows.

Anyway, you can all judge for yourselves as Eric Schmidt, rather than withdraw completely from this market as expected, announced a few days ago that the product will be released in the UK shortly. I for one expect a similar failure but something must be keeping Google optimistic that we can’t yet see.