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Google TV will launch in the US this autumn
by
Matt Morgan on 05/21/2010
Google has announced plans to launch a “Google TV” internet platform this autumn. So far, only Sony has said it will integrate the technology into its TVs.
May 21, 2010 — Some see it as the ultimate next step in TV viewing: full integration of the internet into the living room. At a developers’ conference this week, Google detailed its plans for just that. Teaming up with Sony, Google will launch “Google TV” in the US later this year, allowing users to search for and stream video content directly to their TV screens.
But doesn’t this sound familiar? Indeed, this isn’t the first time companies have tried to bring the two media closer together. Many of the big TV manufacturers already offer models with internet access — Samsung has Internet@TV, Panasonic has Viera Cast, Philips has Net TV. You can even buy devices that bring internet capabilities to older models — Apple had a go at this with Apple TV, and many of the major consumer-electronics manufacturers offer Blu-ray players with internet functionality. One Swedish company even makes TVs that run on Google’s Android operating system. Once you’ve got that up and running, you’d think, you can do just about anything you want on the TV screen.
What’s more, the VGA and HDMI inputs on modern HDTVs allow you to hook your laptop up to the big screen in matter of seconds: Just about anything a PC does can now be viewed on the TV.
Google TV hopes to bring TV and the internet closer than ever before. But will it really change the world?
So what is Google really selling here? It all comes down to seamlessness: Normal TV channels will integrate more closely than before with information and videos from the net. You’ll be able to shrink the TV picture into a small window while you surf the net on the rest of the screen. And the classic design of the TV remote will gain a computer-style keyboard.
In other words, Google TV will actually be part computer, part TV — in one box. Until now, many systems resemble a normal PC setup with a mouse, a keyboard, and an oversized monitor. That or they’re essentially a TV with a slightly dumbed-down version of the internet. We’ll just have to wait and see if this latest attempt finally ushers in the new era that Google hopes for. After all, this ultimately comes down to one thing for Google: selling more ads.
The system is expected to be available on Sony TVs launched in the US this autumn, but there’s no word yet on availability in the UK or Europe.
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