In this day and age when almost every new TV boasts a bevvy of “smart” features, it seems like these “smart” TVs aren’t as popular as you’d expect.

There are a number of reasons why smart TVs have yet to revolutionize the entertainment industry, given the growing number of ways we now have to consume media.   Why buy an expensive new smart TV when there are gadgets and apps that offer many of the same capabilities?  And if online content is what you want to watch, you can just use your mobile device or computer to view your favorite programs.

New trends in devices + services

• VIZIO Internet Apps Plus

Vizio’s next generation smartTV platform was recently unveiled.  The VIZIO Internet app plus combines “the best-in-class connected TV experience” with an all-new platform, and additional apps.  It aims to offer consumers with an intuitive smart TV experience, including: full-screen app browsing and discovery, HTML5 app support, app control by mobile devices, and its app launcher.  The new smart TV experience debuted on Vizio’s all-new M-Series Razor LED smart TV collection.

• Online services

Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on a new smart TV, there are other online services where you can watch your favorite program, like AMC’s popular series Breaking Bad.  You can watch the latest episode or catch up on previous seasons, using services like SideReel, Free TV, TV Muse, WatchSeries, and Cucirca.

See our complete list of cloud services for watching Breaking Bad and other top shows online.

 The future of smart TV

Google Chromecast

It’s no secret that Google TV failed miserably with its initial launch, but instead of dropping out of the TV game, the search giant came up with a new product that aims to compete directly with the likes of Apple TV and Roku.  Dubbed Chromecast, this USB device does what Apple TV does, in a smaller package and a smaller price tag.  It doesn’t come with a remote control as you can use your Android, iOS, OS X, Windows, or Chrome OS device for that purpose.  The only problem with this is that viewers have less content to choose from since it only supports Netflix, YouTube, and Pandora, but promises support for more services soon.

But what’s really preventing SmartTVs from gaining traction?  Are TVs no longer relevant at this day and age of mobile madness?

“It’s an interesting transition,” SiliconANGLE Senior Managing Editor Kristen Nicole stated during a recent appearance on our Live NewsDesk Show with Kristin Feledy.  “TVs are still very popular, they’re still the biggest platform for reaching audiences, especially broad audiences.   Part of this growth that we’re experiencing in technology right now where some people are transitioning away from the TV and other companies and services are looking into bringing the TV up to speed in many regards.

“When it comes to the introduction of smartTVs, this is something that has been around for a little while, but hasn’t really fully gained steam.  Some of the roadblocks they’re experiencing are the usability of smartTVs themselves.  A lot of services that have accompanying set-top boxes also come with a bevvy of applications — one set of applications might be different from another set of applications and so there’s a disparate user experience in that regard.

“Also, TV screen is very different from what you have with a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a smartphone, or even a tablet.  The TV is usually all the way across the room, it doesn’t have that touch interface that consumers are growing so accustomed to now that we have smartphones and tablets, many of which are capable of streaming your cable or satellite TV services or other online television services.  There’s definitely a couple of things that are keeping the smartTVs from gaining traction primarily around the usability,” Kristen added.

For more of Kristen Nicole’s Breaking Analysis, check out the NewsDesk video below:

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