They showed controlling the TV with Android phones, in fact with multiple phones.

No more fights for the controller. :)

I'd like to see a mini game and whoever wins gets to control the TV for 10 minutes.

Just fights among the controllers.

So the input controller is a $300 device with a $70/month use fee?

From what i have read this will be a corporation between Sony, Intel and.. taadaaaa... Logitech.. guess what, they build kickass remotes :p

So, a really nice Sony HDTV + Logitech Harmony + Internet... yeah, i'd love that!

I think that you're missing the point if you think people are supposed to (or will) buy an Android phone for the sole purpose of using it as a controller...

No, I fully understand the use of an Android phone as a controller. I consider it an option that 10% of the user base will use.

I'll rephrase the question: what input device am I supposed to hand to my mother-in-law? A wireless mouse? A gyro-pointer? A mega-keyboard with a teensy little trackpad on it? And she's supposed to focus this little 32x32 cursor on the correct place on the screen?

Right now, I don't know. But it's entirely possible that in the future, your Google TV set-top or Google enabled TV comes with voice recognition and your mother in law just tells it what she wants.

I'll just call her from my flying car.

Seriously, this is a clear example where Apple thinks things out a little better. We're now heading into an indefinite period of "OMG GOOGLE TV PWNS APPLE TV"...but Apple at least took the time to think out their answer before presenting it.

A directional pad.

http://www.google.com/tv/developer/#navigation-is-critical

Seemed like they were using a diNovo EDGE on stage: http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&tbs=isch:1&#...