Google announced plans for Google TV about five months ago. The service is now ready to go live. Google has announced that products featuring Google TV will be hitting retail shelves soon.
Google TV allows users to access the Web as well as their regular television programmes on a regular television set. The new product not only allows users to watch TV programmes, but also other content that has been developed by creators, programmers, developers and advertisers for bigger screens.
Users can navigate to thousands of websites to watch their favourite videos, view photos, chat with friends, watch movies and play games on their TV screens. They can also choose from a wide variety of applications that are currently being developed specifically for Google TV.
Apps for Google TV
One of the main reasons why Google has concentrated their efforts towards TV is the fact that the medium is used by an estimated 5 billion people worldwide, which is far more than the number of people using mobile phones or computers.
Many of Google’s existing partners are developing new ways to monetise their service offerings through this new medium. Some of these partners include:
- Turner Broadcasting – are optimising their popular channels including TBS, TNT and CNN
- NBC Universal – working on CNBC Real-Time to allow users to follow financial news and keep tabs on the stock market
- HBO – developing HBOGO, which will allow users to access HBO content, at their convenience, through an enhanced website for Google TV
- NBA – developed an application, NBA Game Time, to allow users to follow game scores in real-time and also view highlights at their convenience in HD.
Sites such as Amazon Video On Demand and Netflix also offer thousands of movies for streaming rental or purchase to download through Google TV. Technology and media companies such as The New York Times, USA Today, Napster and VEVO are also optimising their content for TV.
A newly launched website provides information about the new features and applications available on Google TV:
www.google.com/tv
Google TV can be accessed on any ordinary television set via a set-top box, similar to the device cable TV companies provide or via special new television sets that already have the functionality in-built and are due for launch later this year. Users will be able to purchase the Google TV set-top box from Logitech, along with a number of accessories such as remote controls and video / Web cameras.
Introducing Sony Internet TV with Google TV
Talking To Your TV
Instead of a remote control, users will also be able to control their Google TV sets through any Android mobile phone or iPhone. They will also be able to use voice search functionality, which means we might soon find scores of people talking to their television sets!
Users will be able to move between TV and the Web easily and will also be able to watch both simultaneously.
