Google joint smart TV battle for British living room

10:00 • 25.06.12



Google is making its long-expected assault on the UK television market with the launch in July of its first product – made by Sony – to let Britons surf the internet, play games and watch videos on TV, The Guardian reported.


The move comes amid predictions that Apple too will move into the "smart TV" market, to compete not only with Google, but with Samsung, Sony and LG. All have been aiming to catch a nascent market that analysts say will become very important because it is one of the few bastions of entertainment not yet revolutionised by the internet.


Google has a partnership with Sony to launch the internet TV set-top boxes, priced £200-£300, in UK stores from 16 July. The gadgets are based on Google's Android software for smartphones and will let viewers switch between popular online applications such as Twitter and the BBC's iPlayer while watching live TV.


Google's TV offering has struggled in the US, where it launched in October 2010. Logitech, a partner, lost millions after
launching a Google TV set-top box in the US at Christmas 2010. During one quarter, more boxes were returned by customers than sold and the company later pulled out.


Google has since spent heavily on the product, as the living room shapes up to be the latest battleground for internet companies. Nearly a million net-connected TVs were sold in the UK in 2010, the latest year for which figures are available, out of a total of 10m TV sales. But it is not clear how many were then actually connected to the net.


Google-owned YouTube features heavily on the new service and, rather than the homemade clips of antics involving cats and dogs, boasts a library of films, premium music videos and live broadcasts of concerts from around the world.


Unlike Apple's current internet TV set-top box – which sells at £100, half the price of the Sony set-top boxes – Google TV brings the entire online world on to the big screen, including emails, news websites and Wikipedia.


The Google TV products, including the £200 NSZ-GS7 internet player and the £300 NSZ-GP9 Blu-ray player (available from October), come with an internet-connected remote control which has a full Qwerty keypad on the reverse.
Google's advantage over rivals is that its software already operates acrossmobile phones, tablet computers and internet browsers. But some analysts questioned the £200 baseline price.

"It's a very difficulty challenge to explain to a consumer what they're buying when it's in a stand-alone set-top box, and at £200 this is an expensive product," said Geoff Blaber, director of devices and platforms at CCS Insight.


"I think the fact it's taken so long for Google to move out beyond the US market is indicative of the challenges they have had with Google TV to date."


Suveer Kothari, Google's head of global TV distribution, said this launch was "the beginning of a long journey" for the company's TV ambitions in Europe.


"We think there's going to be huge benefits from bringing the internet to TV. Google TV attempts to address the problem that there's not really a great experience to access the internet on your TV screen, which is a similar problem we saw in the smartphone market five years ago."
 

Armenian News - Tert.am





LATEST NEWSAll Today news

12:31 • 23/05

Georgia’s Vano Merabishvili sent to prison

12:24 • 23/05

NGO head calls for boycotting gas charges

12:21 • 23/05

Farmers of hail-stricken villages to be freed of water, land taxes

11:29 • 23/05

Prince Charles to visit Armenia

11:27 • 23/05

Trade conditions unlikely to change – CBA

11:22 • 23/05

Lennon lyrics donated to British Library for tax relief

11:11 • 23/05

Women suffer more mental health problems than men due to stress of juggling many roles, according to study

10:55 • 23/05

Nissan to recall more than 800,000 cars

10:44 • 23/05

Eddie Ahern and Neil Clement receive lengthy BHA bans

10:39 • 23/05

Aleppo-Armenian intellectual kidnapped by extremist rebel group

10:19 • 23/05

Carrefour to divest 25 pct stake in Middle East venture

09:52 • 23/05

168 zham: Moscow’s second message

09:51 • 23/05

Zhoghovurd: Opposition rep reached agreement with Armenia’s prosecutor general?

09:32 • 23/05

Ford plans to shut all Australian production by 2016

09:26 • 23/05

Japanese 80-year-old claims Everest record

09:15 • 23/05

US confirms four American citizens killed by drones

09:10 • 23/05

Woolwich machete attack: Cameron to lead Cobra meeting

08:57 • 23/05

‘Turkey shows little progress in freedom’- Amnesty International

08:38 • 23/05

Zhoghovurd: Opposition MP, Armenian premier meet?

22:05 • 22/05

Armenian opposition rep calls for admitting mistakes

21:52 • 22/05

Vatican releases first-ever Annual Report of the Financial Information Authority, 2012

21:51 • 22/05

FEMEN activist arrested inside Notre Dame Cathedral

21:37 • 22/05

Forbes releases annual list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women

21:06 • 22/05

Armenian education minister favors MP’s remark

20:27 • 22/05

Gazprom-offered price lowest for Armenia – minister

19:30 • 22/05

Armenia to join REITOX network

19:00 • 22/05

Opposition Armenian MP reverts to problem of Yerevan’s covered market

18:46 • 22/05

Rule of Law parliamentary group to vote for government program

18:17 • 22/05

ARF-D group member astonished by ‘circus shows’ in Armenian parliament

18:15 • 22/05

Heritage parliamentary group to vote against government program

17:52 • 22/05

Vanadzor population protests gas tariff hike

17:29 • 22/05

Armenia’s Central Bank not certain about plan to freeze villagers’ loans

17:18 • 22/05

Armenian NA vice-speaker urges opposition present alternative program

17:05 • 22/05

Turkish-Armenian journalist jailed for insulting Prophet

16:46 • 22/05

Armenian DM to attend European security conference in Moscow

16:33 • 22/05

Armenia’s education minister responds to opposition’s criticism

16:24 • 22/05

Armenian minister says Iranian gas pipeline plan less effective

15:32 • 22/05

Opposition Armenian MP shares opinion with premier

15:28 • 22/05

National Assembly to debate gas price hike in closed session

14:50 • 22/05

Armenian human rights activist speaks of life-termers’ problems

14:26 • 22/05

Armenian police chief meets police officers in Karabakh

14:00 • 22/05

Iran's Ahmadinejad to contest poll bar on ally Mashaei

13:52 • 22/05

Azerbaijan continues arms race – Armenian FM

13:45 • 22/05

Armenia’s parliament rejects Heritage party’s bill on making amendments in Election Code

13:30 • 22/05

Gas tariff growth not to cause boycott - MP



ArmeniaRegionPress digestWorldBusinessEventScience/techCultureSportsLifestyle