No Internet TV in my stocking this year?

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, but he probably won’t be lugging a great big flat-screen TV with built-in Internet connectivity in his sleigh this year. Oh, you might get that nice 32″ Sony you’ve been eyeing at Best Buy, but if you want to stream Netflix movies on it, you’ll still need some other device. Not that there aren’t any Internet-enabled TVs on the market yet, it’s just that we’re still way in the early part of the growth curve for them. Why? Well, James McQuivey of Forrester Research had it right on NPR’s Morning Edition yesterday: Not a lot of features yet. Too expensive. The interface isn’t there yet. These early Internet-ready TVs are placeholders for the vendors while they figure out what features will drive sales, what price points will drive sales, and how to create interfaces that create a “lean-back” web surfing experience using a TV remote. Stay tuned. Maybe by Christmas 2010.