Where’s my Google Nexus TV

If you’re unfamiliar with the Nexus program it’s un skinned Android. Google works with a device manufacture to release a device (tablets, phones) that showcase the platform without carrier customizations. Most Android phones that you buy today have some sort of customization. Samsung has their Touchwiz skin and HTC with their sense customizations are two of the most popular. The problems with these skins is that you don’t get updates released by Android in a timely manner (if at all), along with carrier bloatware reminiscent of the bloatware you get on Windows PC’s.

I’ve been with Android since the beginning with the G1 on T-Mobile which was an un skinned Android device with a qwerty keyboard. While the phone was bulky and the screen small I loved the phone. I had skipped the Nexus one and Nexus S Android phones because I couldn’t justify a $700 phone purchase. My first Nexus purchase was the Nexus 7 tablet. I won’t go into why I purchased the Nexus 7 I guess I’ll get into that in a separate post but shortly after I purchased the Galaxy Nexus on T-Mobile as well. The Galaxy Nexus running Jelly Bean 4.2 is by far the best phone I’ve owned. While there’s a newer LG Nexus 4 device with better specs I’ve decided to hold onto the Galaxy Nexus. My satisfaction with the Nexus devices leaves me with one question. Is there going to be a Google Nexus TV device?

I currently own the Apple TV. Which is basically my Netflix streamer. While it’s a good device that gets the job done I’m looking for more. The current Google TV has a browser, app store, crackle app and Netflix app. The real killer is the fact this device has an app store, which the Apple TV does not. I was tempted into buying the Visio Co-Star which is an affordable $100 Google TV box but decided against it due to the fact it’s not a Nexus device. I’ve read quite a few complaints about the performance of the Co-Star, and while the recent update had addressed some of those issues I decided to hold off on my Google TV purchase until Google releases a Google TV Nexus device. I’m actually going to say that I won’t purchase another Google Android device unless it’s a Nexus device. With the success of the Nexus 7 tablets and current LG Nexus 4 devices I feel as though 2013 will be the year of the Google Nexus TV. While I don’t have a shred of proof I have a strong feeling that Google has realized that if they give their devices high end specs at a low-end cost that their devices will sell.

Tags

Google