In a rather sensational story posted yesterday by the New York Times, apparently Google has courted Intel and Sony and they are actively working on a new platform called Google TV. The main goal here is to finally bring a cohesive web experience to the living room through next generation TV’s and set-top boxes. While this type of technology exists already, and has existed for a while, the whole scene is very fragmented. In terms of TV’s, nearly every major CE manufacturer has Internet video and content functionality, but it isn’t intuitive for many consumers to use.
The play is great for Google and Intel as they try to diversify their portfolio away from computing, and a total win for Sony who has had a roller coaster ride for the last few years with their TV strategy. NYT believes that this will enable Sony to get a “leg up on its competitors” by allowing them to have the first accessories and TV’s with this new system – it may even inspire a new sub-brand. However, I remain skeptical. Is this WebTV 2.0? Or the first real attempt at unionizing the best of the Internet on TV?
The partners envision technology that will make it as easy for TV users to navigate Web applications, like the Twitter social network and the Picasa photo site, as it is to change the channel.
Some existing televisions and set-top boxes offer access to Web content, but the choice of sites is limited. Google intends to open its TV platform, which is based on its Android operating system for smartphones, to software developers. The company hopes the move will spur the same outpouring of creativity that consumers have seen in applications for cellphones.
Google is expected to deliver a toolkit to outside programmers within the next couple of months, and products based on the software could appear as soon as this summer.
The three companies have tapped Logitech, which specializes in remote controls and computer speakers, for peripheral devices, including a remote with a tiny keyboard.
The project, which has been under way for several months, was described by people with knowledge of it. They requested anonymity because the partners were not allowed to speak publicly at this point, and details remained under negotiation.
Spokesmen for Google, Intel and Logitech declined to comment. A Sony spokesman said he was not familiar with the project. The companies appear to be hiring for Android-related jobs. Intel, for example, has listed jobs for senior application engineers with Android programming experience who can help extend Intel’s technology “from PC screen to mobile screen and TV screen.” Logitech also has several job listings for Android developers, including a position for an “embedded software engineer” with experience building “audio and video products based on the Android platform.”
Jacob Hsu, chief executive of Symbio, a contract engineering firm that does work for consumer electronics companies, said there was rising interest in set-top box technology among the traditional computing players. “The boxes are just getting more and more powerful, so there’s more you can do with them,” he said.
For Google, the project is a pre-emptive move to get a foothold in the living room as more consumers start exploring ways to bring Web content to their television sets. Google wants to aggressively ensure that its services, in particular its search and advertising systems, play a central role.
“Google wants to be everywhere the Internet is so they can put ads there,” said one of the people with knowledge of the project.
Based on Google’s Android operating system, the TV technology runs on Intel’s Atom chips. Google has built a prototype set-top box, but the technology may be incorporated directly into TVs or other devices.
The Google TV software will present users with a new interface for TVs that lets them perform Internet functions like search while also pulling down Web programming like YouTube videos or TV shows from Hulu.com. The technology will also allow downloadable Web applications, like games and social networks, to run on the devices.
A person with knowledge of the project said that Google TV would use a version of Google’s Chrome Web browser, which currently does not work on Android phones.
A person with knowledge of the Google TV project said that the set-top box technology was advanced enough that Google had begun a limited test with Dish Network, one of Google’s partners in the TV Ads program. A spokeswoman for Dish Network declined to comment. This month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Google and Dish were testing a TV program search service.
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Christopher
In a rather sensational story posted yesterday by the New York Times, apparently Google has courted Intel and Sony and they are actively working on a new platform called Google TV. The main goal here is to finally bring a cohesive web experience to the living room through next generation TV’s and set-top boxes. While this type of technology exists already, and has existed for a while, the whole scene is very fragmented. In terms of TV’s, nearly every major CE manufacturer has Internet video and content functionality, but it isn’t intuitive for many consumers to use.
The play is great for Google and Intel as they try to diversify their portfolio away from computing, and a total win for Sony who has had a roller coaster ride for the last few years with their TV strategy. NYT believes that this will enable Sony to get a “leg up on its competitors” by allowing them to have the first accessories and TV’s with this new system – it may even inspire a new sub-brand. However, I remain skeptical. Is this WebTV 2.0? Or the first real attempt at unionizing the best of the Internet on TV?
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