Comments on: Could Google TV get its Kindle Fire moment?

By: RG GEIGER

RG GEIGER — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 20:25:34 +0000

OK, sure I checked the box to allow non-market apps and i can download APKs but when I click on the downloaded file, “No Program” avaliable to handle that file format? Also tried APK within a ZIP file, same thing. Have they just changed the file ending? could you change APK to something else and then they would install? That would be sweet because right now there is practically nothing in the Android market labeled compatable for GTV. :(

By: Stevie Welles

Stevie Welles — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 01:28:54 +0000

None of these STB’s matter until the unholy marriage of content creators and cable providers is dissolved. I don’t want a stupid box that goes between my cable box and my TV. I want something that completely replaces the cable box by giving me access to streaming online content (real content from top-notch creators) and my networked content. No stupid codec restrictions. No more of this, “you get Neflix but not Amazon VOD, you get ABC but not CBS, you get HBO but only if you have cable in the first place” bull. Seriously, we need to execute cable as we know it and go to an a la carte system that rewards good content and lets the stuff on channel 528 die. I know, bandwidth, yada, yada, yada.

By: Relwal

Relwal — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:50:43 +0000

The only situations where we’ve seen success with non-Google Android forks is where the OEM has something significant to leverage and little to gain from Google as a partner. Examples include B&N Nook, Kindle Fire, OPhone, and Baidu. But I think the number of such cases is quite limited.

Google, of course, has a huge incentive to make it as attractive as possible for OEMs to be their partner and provide the full Android experience.

By: Janko Roettgers

Janko Roettgers — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 14:20:21 +0000

Hah! Thanks for pointing it out, I corrected it.

By: Sales Trainer

Sales Trainer — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 13:13:23 +0000

Sounds amazing, looks amazing, I also want one and I cant wait to see how these get on!

By: Cody

Cody — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 09:30:37 +0000

Facepalm: “QWERTY” is misspelled.

By: benhookway

benhookway — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 08:24:38 +0000

Interesting thoughts. I’ve seen several Android STBs in the flesh and they vary wildly in quality, and the ability to render web video. On the whole, the Android 2.2 boxes are almost always poor. Bad browsers for the most part. The 2.3 boxes were on the whole much better and crucially tend to have proper full web browsing, rendering and streaming capability.

Some of the problem with the 2.2 boxes is that manufacturers are just taking what is basically a BSP from the semi co and putting a STB case around it.

So while Google continues its Android business model there will be STBs running it – no question. The UX will of course diverge, as it did with handsets, until Google decide to pull it back together, but they will need an alternative to GoogleTV as that unified UX.

By: Lucian Armasu

Lucian Armasu — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 06:34:41 +0000

I just want them to use powerful ARM chips already, like the quad core Tegra 3, and try to turn Google TV into a console platform, that a lot of manufacturers can use to push their cheap “consoles” into the market. But Google needs to really push that idea to developers, too. They need a hands-on approach with this, and not treat it as an afterthought.

By: symbolset

symbolset — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 03:24:46 +0000

Google gets plenty out of it – when people open the browser and search for something whose ads do you think they are going to see? And Android is open source, so Google set it free for people to do whatever they want with it – including this! Most especially this. Getting the full Android Market and apps on these will no doubt be a pain, but no doubt also it can be done.

Want one. Or maybe six.

By: Bob Bigellow

Bob Bigellow — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 02:26:32 +0000

Google doesn’t get a whole lot from the Android Market either. 70% goes to the developer. 30% goes to the carrier.

Google didn’t build Android to profit directly from it, but indirectly. By advancing technologies so that everyone is carrying a web browser in their pockets or have web browsers on their televisions, the web gets used more and more. The more the web gets used, the more Google earns through advertising.

If people use apps more than browsing the web, then there will be more and more app developers. These app developers will want to monetize their apps with in-app payments or will want to advertise their apps. In this ecosystem, Google makes money via advertising and the payment processing fees.

So, really, even if there’s an Amazon TV device like Kindle Fire which doesn’t connect to the Android Marketplace, Google will still profit from it in the long run.