Snow? Eskimos (Inuit?)?
Why would people want to pay out yet again for things when they already have a house full of other gadgets that can do the same job and usually do it better?
1. If you've got a console, you have the means to access the web (and thus social network of your choice), plus a variety of IPTV services. Even the lowly Wii can do it. But let's face it, browsing the web on a console is like repeatedly poking yourself in the eye with a pencil; anyone can do it but why would you voluntarily choose self-infllicted pain? Let's not forget, you might also be using your console for its primary purpose - playing games.
2. If you've got a smartphone or fondleslab, you've got a much nicer way to access the web. You can also stream IPTV to the things in a variety of ways. How many slabs/smartphones per person in the typical gadget-enthused household (i.e. target demographic for smart TVs)? It is bound to be a a ratio somewhere north of 1:1.
3. You've almost certainly got a PC (or six - *shame*) knocking around. By far the most web browsing experience and second best TV platform.
4. Not to mention you may already have Sky or Virgin TV, so you've got time-shifting, on-demand and streaming TV opportunities there as well. Maybe even a second box/subscription to keep the peace. Personally I'm already so overwhelmed with choice I cannot even be arsed to install 'Sky Go' or whatever it is they are calling it now on my smartphone or PC.
5. You will also probably have Freeview and/or Freeview HD on one or more non-smart TVs, and maybe even a PVR built in as well.
6. Let's not forget the cupboard full of DVDs and/or Blu-Rays that you have lovingly shelled out for down the years. Old school I know, but people are still buying shedloads of the things.
7. Oh, and board games, books, music, hobbies, the world outside your window, a decent night's sleep, commuting to work, working, shopping, eating and drinking, bringing up your kids, secret life as a masked crime-fighter, etc. Got to leave some time for those things between TV and FaceCrack.
So again I ask, why would anyone pay out yet again to solve a problem that they already have up to six other solutions for already? Especially if you have already bought a new flat-screen TV or set-top box in recent months or years, not to mention 3D TV maybe taking off/maybe fizzling out, so lots of 'wait and see-ers' who remember Betamax and HD-DVD.
There are only four pairs of eyes and 24 hours in a day in our house. At most we could consume 96 hours of TV/Social/Media/Web per day. We have 13 independent sources of content and enough screenage to display ten of them simultaneously, and even if we all gave up work/school/eating/sleeping/crime-fighting we could only consume about 40% of what the technology is capable of vomiting forth. (And vomit is what 90% of the stuff available is anyway).
The real surprise is that anyone is surprised the market for yet another source of said vomit is not taking off.
(And I forgot about the PSP and 3 x Nintendo DS's knocking around the house!)