Indeed, when Logitech slashed the price of its Google TV-enabled Revue setup box last summer to $99—a whopping $200 off its original sticker price—I wrote that it still wasn’t much of a bargain.

On Friday, though, Google announced its plan to resuscitate its struggling home-video platform with a software update that would simplify Google TV’s thicket of menus, add a one-stop search app for TV shows and movies, and—perhaps most importantly—finally allow Android developers to build big-screen Google TV apps.

The update will arrive early next week for owners of Sony-made Google TV telelvisions and Blu-ray players, Google said, and “soon thereafter” for the $99 Logitech Revue.

I haven’t had a chance to play around with the updated Google TV software yet, but Google posted a video of its “New Google TV Experience” online, and from what I’ve seen, it looks like a substantial improvement over Google TV 1.0.

The multi-column interface on the old Google TV has been replaced by a clean row of icons at the bottom of the screen, complete with an “all apps” option that quickly pulls up all your Google TV shortcuts. In short, we’re talking a lot less clicking.

Searching for a show to watch also seems poised to become much easier thanks to the unified “TV & Movies” app, which lets you search for shows and movies across live TV channels, Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, and other online services.

Google is also promising a new, “fast” YouTube interface, with shortcuts to HD-quality YouTube videos and the ability to create your own YouTube “channels” using search terms and phrases.

Best of all, a long-promised feature—access to the Android Market—is finally coming to Google TV, meaning that the same developers building applications for Android smartphones will get the chance to build apps for big-screen TVs.

Exciting news, no doubt; that said, Google warns that the first batch of Google TV apps “won’t be large,” and that existing Android apps that require GPS, touchscreen input, or calling features won’t be eligible for the Goole TV platform.

And even as it touts the latest features in the updated Google TV software, Google is seriously downplaying one of the biggest headlines from last year’s Google TV launch: the ability to stream web-based network TV shows using the on-screen browser. That’s probably because all the big TV and cable networks quickly rallied to block Google TV devices from streaming their shows on the web.

In a blog post about the upcoming software update, Google was careful to note that the new Google TV is “not about replacing broadcast or cable TV,” but rather “bringing millions of new channels to your TV from the next generation of creator, application developers, and networks.”

So, will the new Google TV rival competitors like Apple TV and the bargain-priced Roku set-top boxes? Hmmm.

While the new Google TV software sounds promising, the actual hardware remains tricky to set up (see my review of the Revue for details), and it’s uncertain whether Android developers will actually take to Google TV given the (likely) small number of users.

Then again, if Android apps for Google TV begin to flourish, and some cheaper Google TV devices arrive in stores—I’m thinking south of $99, similar to the budget Roku TV boxes—then we might have something.

Personally, I’m taking a “wait and see” stance on this one—and unless you’re dying to try Google TV for yourself, I recommend you do the same.

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So perhaps it shouldn’t come as too much surprise that the very first Google TV box—the Logitech Revue, which came with a $299 price tag when it first arrived last October—drew little interest from viewers and a $50 price cut earlier this year.

Well, Logitech has just announced that it will soon chop the Revue’s price tag again—to just $99 (as reported by NewTeeVee), same as the revamped Apple TV and the priciest Roku streaming-video box. We’re pretty much talking a fire sale here.

The Revue's back panel: Yep, that'a a lot of wires there.

Don’t be tempted, though. Based on my experience late last year with the tricky-to-install, tough-to-use TV set-top box, the Revue still isn’t a bargain, even after such a steep discount.

The Revue—and the Android-powered Google TV platform in general—seek to (finally) meld TV and the Web into a “single, seamless experience,” complete with a prominent Google search box to help you find shows to watch and record. (Sony is also in the Google TV game, having released a series of Google TV-enabled HDTVs and a Blu-ray player late last year.)

Google TV promises to let you watch TV and browse the Web at the same time using the old, familiar picture-and-picture approach, as well as (eventually, at least) run applications from the Android Market. Apps for streaming video and music services like Netflix, Amazon, and Pandora as also available.

The Revue's picture-and-picture feature, with the web in one window and live TV in another.

But as I wrote last year, setting up the Revue in your living room involves disconnecting your cable box or DVR from your TV and connecting it to the Revue; after that, you use a connect a second HDMI cable to the Revue and plug the other end back into your TV. You’ll then have to attach an infrared transmitter to the Revue that “blasts” wireless commands to your DVR, essentially taking control of it.

If that sounds like a messy setup, well … it is, although the Google TV interface does a reasonably good job of guiding you through the tedious process.

The Revue also comes with a large, clunky keyboard with “squishy,” non-backlit keys (good luck typing in the dark), as well as a “quirky” interface that forces you to switch back and forth between a touchpad and arrow keys when navigating the various on-screen menus.

The Revue's clunky keypad: No backlighting, and "squishy" keys.

Beyond the actual Revue hardware, there’s also the fact that all the major networks have blocked access to their free, streaming TV episodes from Google TV devices—essentially negating one of the big selling points for Google TV in general.

Last but not least, we’re still waiting for Google to allow Google TV users to install applications from the Android Market onto their devices. (Word is that an update will enable Android Market access later this summer.)

In the end, it’s hard to recommend the Revue—even at $200 off its original price tag—over such competing devices as the Apple TV and Roku’s inexpensive set-top boxes.

Still don’t believe me? Consider this: Logitech admitted this week that over the past few months, “returns of [the Revue] were higher than the very modest sales.” Never a good sign.

Read more about Apple TV, as well as the newly updated Roku 2 line of TV set-top boxes.

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