Google TV is currently a failure. So when Mr. Schmidt claimed that most TVs by 2012 will run Google TV (aka Android), he certainly did raise some eyebrows. But I think he is right, and there can only be one reason.

And it's this: television manufacturers are very scared of Apple. For one, Apple completely blindsided the mobile phone industry with the iPhone, and the other manufacturers' combined Android efforts took two years to catch up. And then Apple did it again with the iPad. Again, other manufacturers, taken completely by surprise, blundered in dismissing the tablet as a fad and sealed their fate by reacting ineffectively.

OK, so Apple blew competitors away with the iPhone and the iPad, blah blah blah. What does that have to do with Google TV? Well certainly you've heard the news (or rumors) that Apple is going to enter the TV business in late 2012 or so. While some dismiss that this "iTV" will be a failure, you can bet that the rumor has television manufacturers sweating like crazy nonetheless. They're afraid that even if the "iTV" is indeed just a rumored and nonexistent device, they're going to end up in the position that iPad competitors are currently stuck in: late to the game and playing catch-up.

Probably, television manufacturers are holding meetings this moment to discuss the production of smart TVs. "How are we going to do that?" one member might ask. Obviously, the development of an operating system cannot be completed overnight, especially one with capabilities that will have to match iOS. This is where Google TV, with trumpets blaring, comes in. It has everything that an "iTV" competitor ought to: apps, Internet, media, etc. Right now, Google TV is a knight in shining armor.

However, even that scenario is still a long way from "the majority of televisions" that Mr. Schmidt claims will run Google TV. That too is easy to explain. TVs, unlike smartphones, don't have widely diverging specs, other than the display size and whatnot. So, the logic is that, if a manufacturer is going to build a TV and it can run Google TV and enjoy the benefits of apps, Internet, etc. for free, why the heck not? Manufacturers will embrace Google TV and really, what other choice do they have?

I apologize for being Captain Obvious, but I needed to get that off my mind. :)