Earlier this year at Google Developer IO conference, Google announced the most awaited innovative product Google TV. It’s an Android based Television platform and it has entered into deals with hardware manufacturers like Sony, Intel and Logitech, who will release products on Google TV platform. So as they bring the open source android OS for their TV its open up a whole new area for the developers to make new applications of it.
The main Features of Google TV :
- Search your television – Type in what you want to watch, and we’ll find it for you. Google TV lets you seamlessly search all of the content on your TV, the web, and apps – then access it with a single click. You can also easily switch between TV and the web without having to change inputs on your television.
- The web is now a channel – With Google Chrome and Adobe Flash Player 10.1, Google TV lets you access everything on the web. Watch your favorite web videos, view photos, play games, check fantasy scores, chat with friends, and do everything else you’re accustomed to doing online. Plus, the world’s best websites are now being perfected for television.
- A new world of apps for your TV – Google TV will come pre-loaded with apps like Netflix, Twitter, CNBC, Pandora, Napster, NBA Game Time, Amazon Video On Demand and Gallery. Starting early next year, apps from Android Market will work on Google TV as well.
- Your phone = remote control -Your Android phone or iPhone can be used to control your Google TV in place of a remote control. Use your voice to search, and even use multiple phones to control the same TV. No more fighting over the remote!
- Fling a video to your television – Find a great website on your phone and want to show it to everyone? Now you can. “Fling” what you’re watching, listening to, or doing on your phone by sending it to your TV with the press of a button.
- Watch it now – Never miss a show again. With Google TV, you can access over 40,000 shows and movies whenever you want with Netflix ($8.99 a month) or Amazon Video On Demand (shows start at 99 cents!).
- YouTube perfected for TV – YouTube is great on the web, but it’s even better on television. With YouTube Leanback, you can watch videos without ever clicking play — just sit back and watch all of your favorite YouTube content, personally chosen for you, in full screen HD. You can even create new channels on the fly.
- Watch and browse,simultaneously -With Google TV, you can browse the web or open an app and watch TV on the same screen. Check your fantasy football stats while watching the game, check your @replies on Twitter during American Idol, or purchase a product online right after you watch the ad. It’s just like picture-in-picture mode, but with the web and the TV.
- TV gets a homepage – Turn on your television and you’ll instantly have access to your favorite channels, apps, podcasts, and websites, thanks to the Google TV home screen. The home screen is customizable for you, by you, so that you can always change your preferences.
- Create a TV playlist – Want to watch something, but don’t have time right now? Send it to your Google Queue and watch it later. You can also subscribe to your favorite websites and video podcasts, add YouTube videos, and more. It’s like building a DVR for the web.
- Record from the search bar – If you’re a DISH Network subscriber using Google TV, you’ll enjoy many enhanced TV and DVR features, including recording a show right from the search bar and being able to search all of your recordings at once.
- The ultimate picture frame – Turn the biggest screen in your house into a beautiful, high-definition photo gallery. Now your TV can stream photos from Picasa, Flickr, and every other photo-sharing site. Plus, you can access any public gallery, not just your own.
Over-the-air updates – How many consumer electronics products go up in value after you buy them? Google TV updates itself automatically, so you’ll get new features for free.
This are some of the interesting features Google TV offers and in near future more and more features will unveil. After the few days of the official launch of the Google TV as a product, SONY introduced the world first Google TV powered television set.More on that in the next post.