Although we haven’t heard anything about Sony’s future line of Google TV-enabled devices for a while, we knew that the Japanese electronics giant didn’t abandon the project just yet. Now we finally have confirmation about one device hitting the US in the near future, and the best news regarding it is that its price is significantly lower than what we expected back in April.
The NSZ-GS7 set-top box is up for pre-order over at J&R for a measly $200 and, while there are still a few things to be revealed about the device, we can already see it become popular. The “Network Media Player” looks pretty much the same it did back in April, when it was revealed to come to select European countries in fall, except for the actual box, which now rocks a classy all-black look.
The remote features a full QWERTY keyboard on the back, which looks both functional and stylish, only a few buttons on the front, a touchpad with gesture support, and a microphone “for voice commands”. All in all, Sony seems to have learned from its past mistakes and the remote might actually combine functionality and usability with good looks.
Unfortunately, the J&R pre-order page doesn’t mention all of the new device’s features and specs, so for the time being we only know that the media player will allow you to browse the web and will come with picture-in-picture support, while the remote should have a Google Play button to help you directly access the app store.
One of the official photos on the retailer's website (pictured above) helps clear some of the mystery, though, showing a LAN port, HDMI in and out, and two USB ports on the back of the set-top box. However, there’s no mention on when to expect the NSZ-GS7 Google TV network media player to start shipping. If you’re keen on getting your hands on the device as soon as possible, go over to J&R and pre-order it!
If you’re willing to wait a bit longer, you should also know that we’re waiting for a similar set-top box, but with an integrated Blu-ray player, to hit the US market soon. The device was expected to sell for around $399 in Europe, but in the States it should come for no more than $300.
Is anyone thinking of getting the new Sony media player? What do you think of its price? And finally, do you think that the Google TV project can be revived with such devices, or do Sony, LG, Samsung and Vizio need to seriously step up their games?
by Darcy LaCouvee, 1 year ago
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