Why You Should Care
Google wants to enter the living room with its Android-based Google TV platform. First Google TV devices will be manufactured by Logitech and Sony.
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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 »
Hoping to spark both the suddenly sagging U.S. TV market and Google’s struggling Android-based TV platform at the same time, consumer electronics maker LG has confirmed that it will release in the U.S. two new smart TV models based on Google TV software later in May. Read More »
In the first quarter of 2012 all eyes were on the screen, both big and small. Apple’s new Retina display pushed video streaming, and broadcast-TV streaming service Aereo’s launch was quickly followed with litigation. These events and more are discussed in a new quarterly report.
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 »
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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 »
By Paul Sweeting
Dec. 30, 2011, 8:01am PT
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Call it the year of lessons learned, if not quite bubbles burst. In 2011, several trends in the connected consumer space that appeared inexorable at the start of the year seemed disorganized by the end. What does that mean for the next 12 months? From cloud-based …
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 »
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 »
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 »
By Colin Gibbs
Aug. 16, 2011, 6:04pm PT
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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 …
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 »
By Michael Wolf
Aug. 13, 2011, 1:00pm PT
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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 …
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 »
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