Sony Internet TV with Google TV review
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Gallery: Sony Google HDTV | 22 Photos
Gallery: Sony's Google TV-powered Internet TV first hands-on! | 13 Photos
This review is primarily of the Sony Internet TV hardware -- make sure you read our full Google TV review to get a feel for the platform itself!
Pros
- Easy set upComfortable remoteEdge lit LED provides good colors, sharp detail
Cons
- Mid- to low-end specsDual View PIP switch is jarringNo hardware volume or input buttons on TV
Hardware
Strictly as a display, the appearance of the Internet TV is different from most HDTVs on the market, with a white curved back and rather unique stand. Ultimately they're just aesthetic differences, though, and getting it set up wasn't terribly complicated, although the power cord's winding entrance into the back of the TV reduced its length to something slightly shorter than we were accustomed to. Despite packing the Google TV-standard 1.2GHz Intel processor, it's not noticeably deeper or heavier than a standard 32-inch LCD using CCFL backlighting, but relatively chunky compare to an edge-lit LED TV. We didn't pick up on any fan noise, and while there's some warmth at the upper left rear of the unit, we don't anticipate keeping things cool to be problem. As far as what you have to actually look at, the display performance is about average, with good colors and decent black levels. We didn't notice a lot of the bloom or uneven backlighting that can occur in edge-lit units, but negatives included relatively shallow horizontal viewing angles left and a very shiny, glossy, reflective finish. Even though it's a 60Hz display and not 120Hz like many newer TVs, we didn't notice any motion blur issues while watching sports or playing games. In general, the 32-inch Internet TV performs about where it's priced as a mid-range HDTV option, although it's frustrating that buyers who want more features in their HDTV -- faster displays, 3D -- can't get them from the Internet TV line.
Software
We found Sony's implementation of Google TV worked well, with a relatively easy setup process that anyone could walk through. The main adjustment we had to get used to was treating TV like any other app running on Android. Simply opening something else like Twitter or even Chrome instantly kills whatever you were watching, unless you had the presence of mind to take advantage of the Dual View button on the remote first to put things in picture-in-picture. It's a decidedly different approach to other smart TV platforms like Yahoo! Widgets that are designed to function as a sidebar to whatever is on, and right now, we're not seeing it as a better one. When we're watching TV, we want to keep watching TV until we say otherwise, and there's an extra step that gets in the way. Dual View should be the main selling feature of the Google TV experience, and it's great to have running -- we pumped Yahoo's Flash page of live updating fantasy basketball scores while also watching several games in PiP -- but it's also where we found our biggest gripe. When you hit the button, while it may not be a shift in resolution, it definitely takes a second or so to kick in, during which you're treated to no sound or video at all. It's not the longest pause ever, but it's incredibly disconcerting and breaks up the TV watching experience. After that, the inability to resize or reposition the window are our next major gripes, as well as that apps don't recognize when it's there and may position critical UI elements in a suddenly inaccessible area of the screen.
Wrap-up
Whether or not Google TV is truly the future of the television watching experience remains to be seen, but Sony's Internet TV specifically does a good job of leveraging what's there with an existing TV experience and quelled many of our installation fears due to its simple setup process. Unfortunately, the platform's current drawbacks and the television's middling display specs make it a tough one to recommend even to early adopters. If connectivity, web access and the potential of Google TV speak to you, we can see it as a worthwhile purchase. At about a $100 premium over Sony's similarly spec'd EX600 HDTV it's not too expensive of a bet to make if you're already in the TV market, but the problem with buying on potential is that it leaves precious little wow factor for you rely on right away.