As we’d been speculating over and over again, today Google TV was announced. I made a lot of speculations with some of the potential of Google TV, and surprisingly enough, everything I mentioned will be possible!
Google TV is smart. “It’s the best of the web, and the best of TV, seamlessly working together.” Sounds hard.
This has been tried before, and it hasn’t gone over very well (cough, Apple, cough). Google is taking the task head-on by simplifying the process with what they do best: search. With Google TV running your TV viewing experience, a search box is added to the screen that will allow the user to search TV shows as well as the web. Like a video you saw on YouTube? Bookmark it. Want an application from the Android Market? Search the website, and push it to your TV!
The company said they had to rethink the way people navigate their televisions. They’re plan of attack involves three core pillars of Google TV.
Number one is obviously Android. Android is making all of this happen by offering a growing OS with over 50,000 applications, being very flexible, and open sourced. Developers will be able to make applications that work on an Android device and on Google TV. Users can also use their own Android devices to Google TV remote controls. You can pair your phone to the TV, and more than one phone can be paired with the TV as well. Sounds cool, but we think this could be a good or a bad thing at times. Imagine a family fighting for control, each with their own Android phones.
Number two, the Chrome browser. Chrome is definitely blazing fast, so why would Google put some other browser in their own TV platform? They have implemented the browser in a way that you really won’t know you’re in it sometimes. Well, you will, but there is a seamless transition between watching TV, searching for another show, and watching a video on the web. The demo, (when it worked, WiFi sucked at the keynote) worked beautifully. It just made sense, and there’s pretty much no learning curve. You’ve used the web on your computer, so it shouldn’t be much different on your TV.
Lastly, there’s Adobe’s Flash technology. Say what you want about it, but as Mr. Gundotra had to say, “As it turns out, people who use the internet use Flash!” That’s really all that needs to be said. You know what Flash is, you’ve used it.
Expect these things to come out in the Fall of this year. That’s right, that soon. What’s even better, you don’t even need to go out and buy a new tv. If you already have a HDTV. Logitech has you covered on that front, as they have made a “companion box,” and will allow you to use the service by connecting to your existing cable box, through HDMI, to the TV. If you’d like to you can even go out and buy a Google TV. Sony will be first to release their line of Google TVs, and others will follow. Sony will also be releasing a Bluray player with Google TV built-in as well. So you’ve got your choices set out for you.
Google I/O was surely a hit. New EVO in hand, I came outta this thing happy.