The long-awaited Logitech Revue, the first device to feature the Google TV interface, was unveiled and demoed in New York City Wednesday, and PCMag was there for a hands on.

The product, powered by an Intel Atom CE4100 processor, will inevitably be billed as a direct Apple TV competitor, even though the two boxes offer quite different feature sets.

Available for pre-order now for $299.99 and shipping by end-of-month, the Logitech Revue uses the Android-based Google TV platform to unite most of the media you consume—from cable shows to YouTube to Web sites—into one searchable user interface. Unlike Apple TV, Google TV brings the Web to your television (via Chrome) and can control your DVR and search its recordings. After some quality time with the device, and a long photo session (check out our slide show below), here are our first impressions.

The Good

• The Revue comes with an excellent, super-responsive full-size keyboard remote control, making using the Web as easy as it is on your PC. There's also a free controller app you can download for your iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, or Android phone. Bottom line: That smaller $129.99 remote is nice, but you hardly need it.
• Video chat looks awesome and streams in 720p if your Wi-Fi signal is strong enough. It remains to be seen just how many platforms this will work across, but it seems you can chat via Google TV with someone who is just using their computer's built-in camera, making this feature more versatile than Apple's iOS device-only FaceTime chats. Bottom line: Even with the Wi-Fi being choked by way too many users, a demo video chat with journalists at the New York event went fairly smoothly (though it was hard to hear anything over all the racket in both rooms).
• Apps, via the Android Marketplace, can be shared from your mobile device to your television—something that users are hoping Apple TV will eventually do with iOS devices. Bottom line: It's a future update for Apple TV, but Google TV has it at launch—and 2011 will bring a Google TV version of the Marketplace to the Revue and other devices.
• Unlike Roku's line of media streaming boxes, the Logitech Revue comes with an app—made by Logitech—to stream your media from your computer, and the file support seems fairly strong, though we're still awaiting a concrete list of codecs supported. Bottom line: The only reason this isn't the nail in the coffin for Roku is because it is three times as expensive as Roku's top model.

The Bad

• If you are a Dish Network subscriber, you're set: the Revue fully supports and integrates your DVR into the smooth, intuitive user interface. If you use any other cable network, you should still be able to access your cable by using the Harmony remote capabilities built-in to the Revue, but the DVR search and programming won't be part of the user interface. Bottom line: This is a win for Dish Network subscribers but a let-down for the rest of us—it seems unlikely this partnership won't remain exclusive for quite awhile.
• Logitech and Google reps were unclear about whether it supports multiple password-protected accounts. Actually, they were clear in stating that currently, the device cannot support multiple accounts. Strangely, we snapped a photo that seems to support the opposite of what they are saying, but for right now, we're going to take their word that you can't store multiple accounts on one device…which is a harsh reality for a family room-based system. "Your" favorite content will really be a mix of favorites used by everyone in the house. And all the Web sites you visited will show up in Chrome's history, unless you erase history, which could irk your fellow household Google TV users. Bottom line: Always log out of your e-mail and Facebook, and the Logitech Revue is not the device to visit SuicideGirls.com on, my friend.

The Ugly

• The cost: $299.99. Whoa. That's three Apple TVs. And if you want to add accessories, the smaller remote control is $129.99 on its own and the Logitech TV Cam for video chat is a whopping $149.99. Bottom line: This is quite an investment.
• Is it an Apple TV killer? Only time—and extensive testing—will tell. PCMag will have a full review of Logitech's Revue in the coming weeks, but for now, peruse the extensive slideshow and tell us which you'd rather own: a Google TV product or Apple TV?