Devices from Sony are coming, with deep Google Play integration

Apr 2, 2012 15:51 GMT  ·  By

Google TV hasn't really been successful in the US, but that's not stopping Google. It is getting ready to launch a second generation of devices as well as to conquer new markets. Google TV is now said to be landing in Europe in September this year according to the French newspaper Les Échos.

Sony is said to be readying two devices for the European launch, though they'll go on sale in the US as well, most likely.

The first is a pure Google TV box going for €200, $267 and one device with an integrated Blu-ray player which will sell for €300 or $400. The news apparently comes straight from Sony France Marketing Director Stephane Labrousse.

Sony already said it was working on new Google TV devices to be unveiled internationally this year.

An international expansion was always the plan for Google, but with the first iteration of Google TV being received rather poorly and seeing few sales, the move was likely pushed back.

But the momentum around Google TV is picking up again, a much-awaited updated breathed new life into the project and brought the Android Market with it.

In fact, the Android Market, now dubbed Google Play, seems to be an integral part of the new devices Sony and likely all other Google TV partners are working on. A Google Play button was spotted on the remote of the new Sony devices.

Part of the problem with the initial Google TV devices was the price. Once the Logitech Revue dropped to $100, €75 it really started selling. Of course, Logitech was selling them at a loss, which is probably it abandoned any Google TV plans for the foreseeable future.

But the new devices have dropped the Intel Atom processors and are now powered by ARM chips, which are significantly cheaper. It remains to be seen whether this helped push the price on Google TV devices down enough.