Google looks set to venture into the living room with Google TV, an Android-based set-top box capable of delivering the best of the Web (and online video) to your television set. And it’s partnered with Sony and Intel to make Google TV happen.
is, without a shadow of a doubt, the biggest name on the Internet right now. The search giant controls the search sector, is making gains with its Chrome Web browser, has Maps, Street View, and all those other cool apps, and, of course, owns YouTube.
Google has also made the move to smartphones with its Android operating system. But it’s yet to venture into the living room, at least until now.
Google Living Room
There have been rumors of Google attempting to enter the living room by way of a set-top box for a while now, but nothing was really known about the efforts, and whether they would actually amount to anything.
But the New York Times is now reporting that Google TV is its name, it’s very real, and Google already has partners lined up.
Google TV
Google, Intel, and Sony are alleged to be jointly developing the Google TV platform. Google TV would take the form of both hardware (set-top boxes) and software (built into TVs) and bring Google right into the living room.
Google TV would be based on the Android operating system and be open to software developers. The intention being to create a similar buzz and number of applications as experienced by the Apple App Store and other smartphone app platforms.
Google TV would allow users to browse and search the Web, watch online video via Web-based apps including YouTube and Hulu (although Boxee’s efforts to do the same thing have been shuttered), and play downloadable games.
Google isn’t doing this for nothing: it would allow the tech giant to place ads on the system and put it at the forefront of the move to connected TV platforms, of which there are an increasing number.
Conclusions
Google has enough clout to not only make this happen but to sweep away all the other connected TV platforms already out there or emerging from development. But it cannot afford any mistakes on this score, and there’s still no real evidence that people want these platforms in any great number.
More details, and an official announcement from Google and/or its partners are definitely needed before I’ll be getting too excited.
