Widgets Not the Way for True Internet TV

The NYTimes’ Matt Richtel writes about the delays in true convergence between TV and the Internet: (1) Consumers think of the TV as a one-way communication tool. (2) Manufacturers, operating with tight profit margins, don’t want to sink another $100 into each set. (3) “The reality of opening a television up to the Internet and, potentially, the viruses and hiccups that can creep in from outside.”

But it will happen. And one former Intel exec says Widgets, which are being introduced on some sets, are not the way.

Gordon Campbell was Intel’s first chief corporate marketing officer. His current company, Personal Web Systems, will soon ship a $150 adapter that will attach to televisions to make them fully Internet-enabled.

He thinks the TV manufacturers are not being genuine when they say consumers do not want full Internet access. “That’s hogwash,” he said. “This generation doesn’t want their hands tied behind their backs. They want the same experience as with a PC, and widgets don’t do that.”

“The ultimate test will be when the technology hits the market and consumers decide,” he says. “I wouldn’t want to be on the widget side when that happens.”

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