14 DAY TRIAL // Japanese manufacturer Matsushita (Panasonic) has closed a deal with Google in order to see the Electronics company launch flat panel television sets that will allow owners to access sites like YouTube and some other Google services, like Picasa Web Albums. The first sets are to reach the United States market this Spring.
Duncan Riley of TechCrunch.com notes that "The deal isn't the first Internet enabled television to be manufactured, but it is the first time Google has signed a deal in this space. Internet in the lounge room has long been a hyped technology that despite various platforms (including Windows MCE) has failed to capture the publics imagination, particularly given the need for a computer or Internet specific device to connect. TV with Internet access built in, if it's delivered without any major premium over existing television sets has the potential of finally delivering mass market convergence. Having YouTube access built into sets as a default would also be a positive for Google as it continues to work towards strengthen YouTube's long term dominance in light of increased competition." The competition he's mentioned is Hulu who is not very far away from bringing the best of Fox and NBC in very good quality via the Internet, but keep in mind that YouTube also announced two months ago that it would be bringing higher resolution content. Is this what they were saving themselves for?
Matsushita is the world's top plasma TV maker and will most likely monitor the sales for Internet-enabled TVs before deciding to sell the sets outside the US. Interestingly enough, this is the first ever venture of Google in this area of the market and it looks like it couldn't have chosen a better partner.
Just imagine the way owning such a TV would be, all the accommodations of watching YouTube videos from the comfort of your couch. Too bad that the videos would still be limited to 10 minutes, but other than that, the Internet and YT in particular are much better sources of entertainment without the annoying advertisements.