Sling Media’s SlingPlayer app is now available on Google TV, making it possible for Logitech Revue owners to access Slingbox streams on their device. The launch of the Google TV app comes a month after SlingBox debuted a dedicated app for the Boxee Box. Read more »
What with self-driving cars and such, Eric Schmidt is not averse to some blue-sky thinking. But one new prediction may be a moonshot too far… Read more at paidContent »
The web has been abuzz with speculations about a mystery Spotify event next week, with many arguing the service will launch a download store. But given its recent growth spurred by Facebook, I’d argue a web-based player would make more sense. Read more »
A lot of times, companies fail by not embracing new technologies quickly enough, but Logitech’s Google TV debacle might be just the opposite: The company bet aggressively on technology that consumers weren’t quite ready for. That mistake in timing cost Logitech upwards of $100 million. Read more »
The TV app market is incredibly fragmented, but Adobe’s Flash won’t provide a solution. The company confirmed that like mobile, it will no longer focus on porting the Flash plugin into web browsers on CE devices, but thinks developers should build native apps instead. Read more »
Huge news for Boxee Box owners: Boxee will soon release a major update that will include the capability to watch live, free over-the-air HD TV on the device though a USB dongle. We were able to take a first peek at the unreleased feature. Read more »
Porn studios have long been on the forefront of technological development, adopting new media distribution models before mainstream content producers even take notice. So what does it mean that porn companies like Vivid and PinkVisual utilize HTML5, and not native apps, to get on Google TV? Read more »
Google TV users can now easily access local media within their home network as well as share videos with other users of the device, thanks to a new Plex app for Google TV. The app also offers access to various Internet content, including music from Spotify. Read more »
Google TV is taking a big step with its update to version 2.0 — but what’s in the card for the platform’s future? Could one day a vendor fork the code to establish a separate Android-powered TV platform, much like Amazon did with the Kindle Fire? Read more »
A year after the much-hyped launch of *Google* TV with partners Sony (NYSE: SNE), Logitech, Intel (NSDQ: INTC) and Dish Network (NSDQ: DISH)… Read more at paidContent »
Google has updated its Google TV platform with a new UI, a bunch of interesting apps and access to the Android Market. The update is rolling out this Sunday, but we already have a first look at the next version of Google TV right here. Read more »
Google TV is getting a big revamp with a new version launching this weekend that will include access to the Android Market as well as various UI improvements. But for Google, this is just the beginning of a marathon with a clear route mapped out. Read more »
Science fiction writers and futurists have long imagined a world in which we control everyday devices with our voice. That future seems a little bit closer to reality with the news that Apple’s Siri voice control technology will likely power its long-rumored iTV device. Read more »
Intel won’t be making any chipsets for smart TVs in the foreseeable future: The company has shut down its Digital Home Group, which was behind the chip that powers the Boxee Box and Google TV devices. However, Boxee and Google aren’t too worried. Read more »
For all the talk, there’s little evidence that cord cutting, to whatever extent it is actually happening, has loosened the grip of the networks or cable operators on the TV business. If anything, they’ve tightened their hold, as evidence from this last quarter shows. Read more »
Turner is going to launch dedicated apps for Google TV that offer access to full episodes of TNT and TBS shows, as long as viewers authenticate themselves as pay TV subscribers. The apps were briefly on the Android market last week, but have since been removed. Read more »
Google TV apps have started to pop up on the Android market, hinting at an imminent release of the Honeycomb-based next version of the smart TV platform. Wonder what those Google TV-specific apps look like? Then take a first look with our slide show. Read more »
Bye-bye Roku, hello Android? Netgear is now looking at Google TV as a potential platform for future media player products. The company had briefly teamed up with Roku to sell co-branded set-top boxes in retail stores, but that partnership didn’t last very long. Read more »
Viewsonic won’t be selling the Boxee-powered smart TV it showed off at CES earlier this year: The company has told us that consumer interest is too low and hardware costs are too high. This is bad news for Boxee, but also the industry as a whole. Read more »
Google chairman Eric Schmidt was on a diplomacy mission to UK broadcasters late last week. His pitch? The Internet will make TV more personal, more social and enable better monetization and measurement opportunities. And Google wants to help them take advantage of those changes. Read more »
Google rocked the mobile world on Monday, August 15, with the news that it will buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, marking a 63-percent premium for the handset manufacturer. It’s a move that ushers Google into the exclusive club of companies that control both the hardware and software elements of their smartphone offerings, and it will enable Google to design handsets that are more closely integrated with Android. However, the deal doesn’t come without its risks, and it remains to be seen just how it will affect other handset makers, competition from Microsoft and the crucial patent issues currently surrounding Google. Companies mentioned in this report include Apple, Research In Motion and Samsung. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility could be a big boost to Google TV, and could signal a shift in its positioning from an operating system that Google sells to consumers to one that is used by a number of pay TV operators instead. Read more »
As evidenced by the news this week of the new HTML5-based Kindle Cloud Reader, much of the news about HTML5’s rapid ascent has centered on mobile devices. But the fast-growing technology won’t just be a one-screen phenomenon. In fact, HTML5 is set to completely invade the ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Roku has raised another $8 million, according to an SEC filing. The round comes just a few weeks after Roku launched the latest version of its broadband set-top boxes, which in addition to streaming video, also features casual games. Read more »
Canceling cable won’t just save you money, it could also help to save the planet: Apple TV, Roku & Co. use significantly less electricity than your cable box. However, not all Netflix boxes are created equal. We tested five popular brands to find the greenest device. Read more »
Users of Sony’s PS3 can now access a special TV version of the BBC’s iPlayer, complete with a navigation optimized for remote controls, personalization and video overlays. The new iPlayer is based on HTML5, showing how important the emerging standard is to the connected-TV world. Read more »
When it comes to Google TV, you have to wonder if Google went too big too soon. And while the company wasn’t wrong to try and own the TV interface, here are some lessons it should take into account as it fine tunes its platform. Read more »
Logitech, a well known computer peripherals company made a strategic blunder by betting on Google TV software and in the end paid a hefty price. A terrible financial performance promoted industry observer Michael Mace to breakdown why Google TV-related turned into a minefield for Logitech. Read more »
Logitech just significantly lowered the price of its Revue set-top box to $99. It’s a desperate move, but price-conscious consumers shouldn’t see it as a closeout sale. Instead, it may just be a great chance to get much more bang for your smart TV buck. Read more »
Third-party developers have begun to work on a SageTV app for Boxee, bringing DVR functionality to the media player. The integration only works if users also run SageTV on a PC, but it could nonetheless be a big deal both for Boxee and SageTV’s fan bases. Read more »
More bad news for Google TV: Device maker Logitech got more units sent back from consumers during the most recent quarter than it actually sold. It now wants to get rid of its massive inventory with a big price cut to $99, down from $249 originally. Read more »
If TV OEMS are going to embrace smart TVs, they need a business model that fits this new paradigm. Up-front, one-burst revenue models are being replaced by longer-term, services-oriented relationships. The key to success in this new world is ensuring that new smart-TV owners are connected and […] Read more »
Boxee will soon roll out a firmware update that will group its growing app catalog into categories. This may seen like a small improvement, but it touches on a bigger issue: As connected devices become more popular, content discovery on them will become more challenging. Read more »
Yahoo TV is one of the oldest connected TV platforms still around, but it continues to innovate. Its broadcast interactivity feature offers new ways for broadcasters and advertisers to reach consumers. But with some of its OEMs looking at other platforms, can it fulfill its promise? Read more »
MOVL is letting Google TV users play poker with each other by using their mobile devices as controllers for cards and bets. The company wants to eventually license its platform to other app makers, and maybe even invade the jumbotron at your next sports game. Read more »
Google TV development boxes sent out to a limited number of Android developers spot an interesting feature: an antenna input. This would enable Google TV users to access free OTA HD programming. Does that mean that Google TV’s next iteration will embrace cord cutting? Read more »
Google has acquired the DVR software maker SageTV — but don’t expect DVR functionality to come to existing Google TV devices anytime soon. In fact, the acquisition may not be at all about time shifting, but about place shifting and taking the Google TV platform everywhere. Read more »
Netflix is being taken to court over not providing accessible videos for the hearing impaired. In a lawsuit, the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) accused Netflix of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by not providing captions for most of its streaming videos. Read more »
Redux has launched a native app for Google TV-powered connected TVs and Blu-ray players, enabling viewers to navigate curated channels of content in the same way they watch regular TV. The app is its first step toward becoming the video discovery guide for connected TV. Read more »
The NBA’s effort to increase the amount of video available to fans in the latest season, with the league reporting more website visitors and video streams watched over the course of the 2010/2011 season and postseason than ever before. Read more »
