Sony’s Google TV Player is now available for standalone sale in Australia for $299

Earlier this year, Sony brought the Sony Google TV to our shores. It was our first Google TV, but it came with a bit of difficulty. The Sony Google TV was only available in Australia if you bundled it together with a BRAVIA TV – somewhat limited.

Well, Sony has today announced that the Google TV is now available in Australia as a standalone for $299. While it is a welcome addition for Sony to bring the separate variant, the $299 price-tag is just that little bit high for my liking. With the Apple TV selling for a sub $200 price in Australia, I don’t see Google TVs competing at anything higher. We’ll see how this one goes, but I don’t foresee very high sales.

Paul Colley, Group Manager, Network Services & Technology, Sony Australia:

Sony’s Internet Player with Google TV turns any television into a Smart TV  … As well as having access to the best TV internet search experience with Google Chrome’s full web browser, it also provides customers with easy access to the Sony Entertainment Network. Of course, its capabilities will continually grow thanks to the rapidly growing number of compatible apps available from Google Play.

Sony’s Google TV is a TV box that acts as a set top box and digital TV box which is connected to Google. Sony have also include quite a cool remote/keyboard to control it and have a few nice innovative features. It is a direct competitor for Apple’s Apple TV, but has reached nowhere near the uptake or popularity. It runs on the Android 3.1 Honeycomb software and is able to download apps from Google Play.

If you’ve got $300 to spare and want to grab one then you can head over to Sony’s online store or to Sony Centre stores now or Harvery Norman as of October 1st.