The Plex app for Google TV will be preinstalled on Sony’s upcoming Google TV devices, which are expected to hit the shelves in the U.S. and other countries this summer. This is a big deal for Plex, and a nice addition to Google TV. Read More »
Sony will start selling two Google TV-based devices in Europe this September. The company confirmed the launch in France to a local news source, and also spilled a few more details about their new Google TV hardware: Apparently, it will once again be pretty expensive. Read More »
How many Google TV devices are actually being used by consumers? Google and its partners have never released any sales figures, but publicly available Android Market data offers some interesting insights. Market data also suggests that price may be key to Google TV’s future success. Read More »
Google TV devices from Sony received an update based on Android Honeycomb 3.2 this week, and Logitech’s Revue will be updated in the near future. This is the last major update for the platform before Ice Cream sandwich, which is rumored to come before year’s end. Read More »
Boxee is following through with its announcement to remove the Mac, Windows and Linux versions of its client from its website. PC users have until the end of Tuesday to download the latest version, but many might opt to check out a competitor instead. Read More »
No, it’s not Apple’s long-rumored TV set or one of the countless other app platforms from Samsung to Roku: Google TV’s biggest competitor, capable even of derailing the company’s entrance into the market for pay-TV set-top boxes, may just be Android itself. Read More »
A week ago, it seemed like Google TV was back on track after announcing new partners. But if Google finally is gaining the trust and support of the consumer electronics industry, there was little evidence of it at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Read More »
Sony is going to start selling Google TV devices around the world, Google revealed in a blog post today. Google also confirmed we are going to see new Google TV gear from LG, Vizio, Samsung and Sony at CES in Las Vegas next week. Read More »
The Intel days are over for Google TV: The next generation of Google TV devices will be powered by an ARM chip from Marvell that promises to be cheaper, snappier and less of a power hog. Also in Marvell’s pipeline: Android set-top-boxes for pay-TV operators. Read More »
On Sunday the Wall Street Journal published a report on Apple’s television plans. I had to read the story at least three times to really figure out what exactly Apple is doing when it comes to television. Here are my takeaways from the report. Read More »
Google Chairman Eric Schmidt recently said that the company’s TV platform will soon dominate the CE market. I was initially underwhelmed by the recent system update, but now I have to say that I agree with Schmidt. Here are five reasons Google TV will be huge. Read More »
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 »
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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 »
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 »
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’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 »
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 »
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 »
Showyou is updating its iPad and iPhone apps to make the consumption of videos shared on social networks easier. In particular, Showyou gets “watch later” capability, as well as its own website and a bookmarklet for video sharing. Next up for Showyou: an Android app. Read More »
Turn on the TV at any given time, and you’re likely going to see tons of tickers scrolling across the screen on news networks, sports shows and even entertainment programming. Synchronize.tv wants to get rid of that and instead bring relevant information to the second screen. … Read More »
Microsoft’s mixed history in the digital living room has many thinking the company could botch its deal with Skype where smart TVs are concerned. But leveraging Skype’s social capabilities and integrating the service with key Microsoft products might just prove otherwise. Read More »
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