14 DAY TRIAL // Android was the star of the show on the second day of the Google I/O 2010 conference. The first half of the starting keynote was dedicated to the Android mobile platform and the launch of Android 2.2 Froyo. The second half was also about Android, though, a position it hasn’t been in before. Google has, as expected, officially announced Google TV, a new platform marrying software, hardware and the web and bringing them to the living room.
The emphasis is on ‘platform,’ Google TV is not just one device, or a piece of software, or even a service. It’s all of them combined to do what many have tried, but no one succeeded so far, combine a complete web experience with the TV experience in a way that compromises neither.
With Google TV, the line between traditional programming, online video and even other online content becomes blurred. Normally, finding something to watch on TV meant flipping through the channels or looking through the TV guide. But with the number of channels always increasing, it’s hard to find what you want when you want it. Google TV solves this with a simple idea, the same one Google has been applying for more than a decade, search.
Users will be able to bring up a search box that enables them to search specifically for the content they want. But, of course, the content they want may not be on at that particular time. It may be available online, though, so, luckily, Google TV looks to online sources as well to find what they need. In a sense, for the viewers, it won’t matter where the content is coming from, they will get the same experience.
Of course, you don’t always know what you want to watch, that’s part of the appeal of the TV. Google TV has this covered too and will enable you to browse to find something that you like, again, be it online or on TV. And it doesn’t have to be just video content. With a full browser at your disposal, you could view a Flickr slideshow or even play a Flash game on your big-screen TV.
Details about Google TV have been trickling in for a couple of months now and most have been accurate. As far as hardware is concerned, Google TV will be available on TV sets, Blu-ray players and set-top boxes. What’s more, all of these will work with your existing cable or satellite box. This flexibility is possible because Google TV comes with just a few hardware requirements, Internet connectivity, both wired and wireless, HDMI connectivity and Bluetooth connectivity for input devices.
The platform will be powered by Intel chips, specifically Atom processors in combination with a dedicated GPU and specialized hardware for video and audio. This will ensure that Google TV devices will be able to run any kind of content you can throw at it, be it HD video or Flash games. The last part is possible because of the integrated Adobe Flash Player.
Which brings us to the software components. Google TV runs Android. At the Google I/O keynote, the boxes were on Android 2.1, but this will change in the future, Google says. Of course, Android was designed as a mobile operating system, but its lightweight and tight integration with the hardware make it perfect for CE devices. Interestingly, though, there aren’t that many changes between the vanilla Android and the one running on these devices.
The second big software component is the browser. The interesting part here is that Google ditched the regular Android web browser and went with Google Chrome instead. The reason for this, the company says, is that Chrome is designed for a full web experience and better suited for the large screens. Of course, most people won’t even known they’re running Chrome, since it features a completely redesigned UI.
Google TV devices are expected to hit the shelves in autumn, in time for the big holiday-season sales. For now, you should expect devices from Sony, TV sets and Blu-ray players, and a box from Logitech. Google has also partnered with Dish Network to bring the platform to the satellite TV provider’s customers.
But this is only the beginning, Google plans to continue to develop the platform and eventually open it up to everyone. Right now, developers can start optimizing their sites for Google TV. In early 2011, Google will open up the Android Marketplace to Google TV so developers can start creating apps dedicated to the platform. And, finally, in summer 2011, Google says it will open-source everything, so anyone can use the platform on any device they want.
Google I/O 2010
- Chrome Web Store - WebM, Google’s Open Video Format for HTML5 - WebM - A Technical Overview and Possible Legal Issues -
Google Wave Is Now Open to Everyone
- Google Wave for Apps and New APIs - Google Storage for Developers - Google Buzz API - Google App Engine for Business and VMWare Partnership - Android 2.2 Froyo Is Lightning Fast - Music May be Coming to the Android Marketplace - YouTube Leanback for Google TV - Presenting the New Fonts API