2010 has been a huge year in tech with big product launches coming thick and fast. Barely a month goes by without a new gadget being added to our wish list. Well it looks like Google has no intention of giving us a break with the announcement of Google TV, a new entertainment service which will launch in Ireland early next year.
By Leo Stiles
Google TV is built around the Android platform and aims to fuse together all your internet and entertainment needs into one streamlined service with your television at the centre of it all. Internet TV is nothing new but most attempts failed miserably as the interface has always been a clunky affair and reliant on low budget internet channels that carry none of the content that the average user would be used to from terrestrial and satellite broadcasters.
Google TV doesn’t replace your existing entertainment set-up but instead augments it buy boosting interactivity and integrating internet, gaming and apps into the overall experience.
The key features of Google TV are:
- Full internet browsing and searching via Chrome without switching channels and with all video being viewable thanks the inclusion of the latest version of Flash.
- A variety of apps will be included at launch with things like Twitter and Facebook.
- All Google TV products will have a remote featuring a full QWERTY keyboard and controls for gaming. Apps for both Android smartphones and iPhone will also be available if users prefer to navigate the service via their mobiles.
- You Tube will be optimised for Google TV with videos offered in HD.
- All Android apps will eventually be usable including games, turning the service into a videogame platform.
- You can send videos from your mobile device to your TV even if it is streaming from the internet using the Fling feature.
- Video services such as Hulu and Netflix in the States are a part of the service and this could mean that the Sky Player and RTE Player will be integrated into the Irish service.
- All your own music, videos and pictures will be fully accessible and can either be streamed from internet services such as Flickr or streamed from your computer over your home network.
- A recording feature is also available but is dependent on third party services.
- The service will evolve with updates pushed to your TV via automatic updates.
Google won’t be producing their own hardware as Apple have with the latest version of their Apple TV but already they have lined up a number of partners who will integrate the service into their products. Chief among these partners is Sony who have already revealed their first products that have Google TV built into them including a stunning new HDTV in their Bravia range and a new Blu-Ray player which will bring the service to any TV it’s connected to.
There is no doubt that we are excited by Google’s foray into the living room but as always, content is king and for the service to really take off Google will have to provide all the music, movies, games and apps that people really want if they are going to compete with Apple who have already produced a decent and affordable entertainment service of their own with Apple TV
Google will be launching the service in the US in the coming weeks with the European details only mentioning a launch sometime in 2011. Typically Ireland wasn’t mentioned at all but Google is on a roll at the moment and we doubt that they would want to concede any ground to Apple for the hearts and minds of Irish consumers with a delayed launch.
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