[missserenity]

Sometimes the most important thing about a new product isn't the product, it's the go-to market strategy. Google hasn't proven it can conquer that last hurdle.

Here's Steve Jobs talking about the challenges with Apple TV and it's go-to-market strategy: http://youtu.be/-pSfOKMEbG0?t=31s

[pedalpete]

I would suggest that rarely is the 'most important thing about a new product' the go to market strategy, particularly if you're google. Maybe start-ups have a single shot at getting to market, (but then, what's all this talk about pivoting??), but google certainly has multiple chances to go to market. Look at Android, they didn't go to market once, see it fail, and then give up. Look at Microsoft, with many of their product lines, you have the first and second iterations flop, only to have the third or fourth go on to be wildly successful.