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Logitech Revue with Google TV has more returns than sales

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So far, Logitech’s bet on Google TV has been a bust.

The computer, video game and TV accessory maker has had more of its Revue set-top boxes running Google TV returned than sold and kept.

In response, Logitech is dropping the price of the Revue from $250 to $99 in a move ‘to accelerate adoption of Google TV platform in order to develop a large installed base for our products over time’ the company said in a statement. When the Revue first launched last October, it sold for $299.

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Logitech said that upcoming changes to Google TV should also make the platform and the Revue more attractive to consumers. Among the changes expected is an updated user interface and a new apps marketplace.

Evidently, hiring Kevin Bacon as a pitchman for the Revue didn’t help sales either. Logitech has removed from its YouTube page ads that feature Bacon playing a fan of his who uses Google TV to connect to the Internet and find Bacon-related content online.

Now at $99, the Revue matches Apple TV’s price as well as the new Roku 2. The Roku 2 and Apple TV are about the size of a hockey puck, while the Revue is about the size of a standard cable box and uses a full-size wireless keyboard or smart phone app to find content.

But negative sales numbers for the Revue wasn’t the only problem for Logitech, based in Switzerland.

The company posted a $45 million operating loss at the end of its first fiscal quarter and also announced this week that its president and chief executive, Gerald P. Quindlen, is stepping down, replaced by Chairman Guerrino De Luca on an acting basis as the company looks for a new long-term CEO.

De Luca previously ran Logitech from 1998 to 2008 as president and CEO.

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-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

Twitter.com/nateog

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