Oh, Logitech Revue, when will you give us value? The first set-top box with Google TV installed has suffered from sluggish sales and an eventual price slash to $99 to help move units. Still, what most people have been waiting for (if they haven’t lost interest completely) is the Android 3.1 update and the introduction of the Android Market. Well, it looks like some of the newer boxes of the Revue now claim to have both, pre-installed.
We’ve already seen a couple of builds of the upcoming update but they require rooting the device to get them installed, which isn’t as easy as rooting your everyday Android phone. If the new boxes have been shipped with the latest update, we should expect a OTA for existing units some time in the near future.
While it may not make sales of the device skyrocket, the Android 3.1 update should prove to be a pretty decent one. The UI will be revamped and allow for widgets, but the Android Market is by far the most exciting feature on the way. While there may not be many applications to use out of the box, it’s a step in the right direction and I hopefully I can justify my $99 purchase for the thing.
Even with the lack of stunning features on the Revue today, having a solid web browser on the big screen is still a pretty cool thing to have. Other features, like being able to shoot a YouTube video from your phone to the TV in an instant is also nice. The Revue itself may not be as impressive as some people were hoping but that may at least be able to surprise users once the update goes live. The low expectations for the Revue may actually benefit Logitech, whose stock is up almost 15% right now after its earnings report.
Is anyone excited for this update still or has the Revue been forgotten in your eyes already? Is anyone looking to pick a Revue up for the update?
Well, that was short-lived. Here’s a statement from Logitech regarding the newer Revue boxes:
“We’d like to clarify that these products do not include the next version of Google TV software. The boxes were prematurely updated with the stickers in anticipation of the next release of the Google TV software, which, once available, will be a free and automatic update pushed to all Logitech Revue boxes that are installed and connected to the Internet”
[Via: Engadget]