Sony’s Google Web TV

SAN FRANCISCO

SONY’S line-up of sleek television sets boasting oogle’s Web-surfing system will go on sale on Saturday, testing how much consumers are willing to pay to combine access to the Internet with regular TV programming.

The high-definition sets unveiled on Tuesday evening in New York will have LCD screens ranging from 24 inches to 46 inches, with recommended retail prices from US$600 (S$782) to US$1,400.

Sony will begin selling the new sets in its online store on Saturday, and they should be available in Best Buy’s United States stores by early next week. Pre-orders are being taken on both Sony’s and Best Buy’s websites.

Sony’s price for its Google TV sets is US$200 to US$400 higher than those of comparable TV sets without the highly touted software, a differential that threatens to dampen sales at a time when the still-shaky economy is causing more households to pinch their pennies.

The strong sales of Apple’s iPhones and iPads have demonstrated that people are still willing to open their wallets to buy breakthrough gadgets, but persuading them usually requires a snazzy marketing campaign that shows why the products are worth the extra money.

Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey said he is not convinced that Sony and Google will be able to make a compelling enough case to turn this new generation of TV sets into a must-have item, even though he is impressed with the technology inside the sets.

“Price is going to be important,” he said. “Google TV is a powerful experience, but most people aren’t going to understand it, unless they can see it in action. And Google isn’t known for its consumer-marketing experience. I think they have the right concept here, but I am not sure about the execution yet.”

Sony is planning a marketing blitz to promote its Google TV sets through the holiday shopping season, although the company is not saying how much it will spend on the campaign.

Google traditionally has refrained from buying TV ads, relying instead on its ubiquity on the Internet and the marketing acumen of its partners.

Like millions of mobile phones that have been sold in the past two years, Sony’s new TV sets will be built on Google’s Android operating system. They will navigate websites through Google’s Chrome browser and rely on Intel’s Atom chips for their processing power.

The system can comb through the Internet, television programming guides and even DVRs from satellite operator Dish Network Corp to find all videos connected to a request entered into a search bar at the top of the screen.

Said Mr Mike Abary, senior vice-president of Sony’s home division: “Finally, you can seamlessly search for your favourite TV programmes and websites on the same screen, at the same time.”
AP

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