14 DAY TRIAL // Without a doubt, the war on the Internet-connected HDTVs market is just about to ignite, just about every manufacturer looking to get a piece of the rather generous pie search-engine giant Google promises with its Google TV platform.
For the time being, the only official partners for Google's initiative were Sony and Logitech, who've already managed to get some sweet time in the spotlight with their respective offerings, namely the Sony Internet TV with Google TV and the Logitech Revue with Google TV set-top box.
However, it's a bit too early to talk about the success or failure of this new category of products, especially since the all-important Christmas shopping season is just around the corner, and only after it passes will we be able to pass some judgment on the matter.
Anyway, coming back to Google TV, it seems that some other major consumer electronics manufacturers are ready and willing to partner with Google in order to benefit from its online TV search platform, with Korean giant Samsung being one of the best-known ones.
In fact, according to Slashgear (who's quoting Bloomberg on the matter), it would seem that Samsung has officially revealed the fact that it will make an important announcement regarding the company's plans for Google TV in early January, an we're willing to bet it will be around CES time, when the company's sure to unleash a whole new batch of products onto the market.
Of course, it remains to be seen just how a later arrival to the bunch of Google TV products will affect sales for Samsung, but given the company's marketing prowess (which has been extremely visible all through 2010, and especially before/during the FIFA 2010 World Cup), we're pretty sure that they'll manage to turn their Google TV initiative into a successful one as well.
[UPDATE:22.11.2010] Following this article, Samsung has contacted us with an official statement on their plans regarding Google TV, which we'll provide as follows: "For Samsung, the connected TV era began more than three years ago and achieved a breakthrough in 2010 with the introduction of Samsung Apps, the world’s first TV application store now available in more than 120 countries.
Our success has been built on an open platform strategy through which we have partnered with diverse content and service providers via our Internet@TV service, including Google properties such as YouTube, Picasa, and Maps
Samsung is focused on delivering the most complete smart TV experience to consumers and this will guide our approach as we consider introducing new services or platforms such as with Google.
A relationship with Google TV is currently under consideration but no decision has yet been reached."