Brier Dudley of the Seattle Times reports that Microsoft might be showing off a Microsoft alternative to Google TV.  Considering that the first Google TV devices like the recently halted Logitech Revue came in at a steep $300 (compared to the limited but inexpensive $99 Apple TV) and had less than enthusiastic reviews due to the immature user interface, Microsoft is reportedly launching a $200 device that will probably be running Windows with Media Center.

While Microsoft has had a difficult time gaining mass market adoption with Windows Media Center, that was likely due to the very steep price of Media Center PCs which were essentially desktop computers with a TV card and remote control interface.  At $200 if Microsoft can keep all the goodness of Media Center but make it a reasonably painless experience, they might just have a winner.

Of course we’ll have to wait and see if they can actually execute, but $200 for something reasonably powerful is a huge step in the right direction.  Of course everything is based on one news report from Seattle, which is Microsoft’s home base, but this story smells like a controlled leak right before CES 2011.  If the $200 price proves accurate, then Microsoft might be on to something if they product is something approaching a full fledged Media Center.

$200 seems to be a reasonable price for this sort of device considering the fact that such a device could probably be built for well under that with the level of chip integration in the Intel CE4100 System on Chip (SoC) which also powers the Logitech Revue.

Update – Of course the other requirement is that Microsoft can work the deals necessary to avoid being locked out from Hulu or YouTube, but Google might put up obstacles for YouTube running on a Microsoft based product.  But if it’s a Windows Media Center computer of some sort with the option of running plain old Internet Explorer or maybe even Google Chrome, I don’t see how Hulu or Google could stop them.  That might be a tacky work around to a fully integrated Windows Media Center solution, but at least it can work.

[Cross-posted at Digital Society]