/ 09.14.2010 12:00AM
Gadget Blog Reports Google TV to Launch in October
CYBERSPACE: The tubes are alight with reports that Google is
going to launch its TV gear in October. Engadget’s
Ben Bowers yesterday obtained an internal document from Best Buy indicating
the launch date for Google TV was originally Oct. 3, but had been pushed back two weeks to
Oct. 17.
“We’ve already seen the Logitech Revue box hardware pass the FCC, but a
tipster has just shared an internal Best Buy document with us disclosing that
the original planned launched date was Oct. 3, and it’s now been mysteriously
pushed back by two weeks,” Bowers
wrote.
He said the leaked memo wasn’t definite proof of a launch, but it had some
credibility given that give Best Buy is Google’s partner on the project, and
the suggested release date’s proximity to the holiday season.
Google first confirmed its plan to launch Google TV last May. The project
brought together Sony, Intel, Best Buy, Dish Network and Logitech. The service
integrates Google’s Android operating system and Chrome Internet browser into
TV sets and peripherals, enabling the search of both Web material and TV content.
Sony will market Google TV in its Sony Internet TV package comprising a Sony
Bravia HDTV set, a Sony Blu-ray DVD player with Internet access. (Sony’s
IP-based Blu-ray player, the BDP-N460, includes the Bravia Internet Video
Platform.) Intel is providing the chips set for the Revue, a standalone
Google TV set-top box, built by Logitech. Best Buy is the retailer, and Dish
Network, having beta tested the service, will integrate Google TV software into
its HD DVR receivers.
Several other techie blogs picked up on Bowers' leaked memo, noting the leaked release
date comes shortly after Apple’s launch of its $99 Web-to-TV peripheral
streaming box. Apple TV will support TV show downloads from iTunes, Netflix,
YouTube, Flickr and other applications. The Apple TV box is set to hit store
shelves later this month.
No prices have yet been released or leaked for the Google TV gear.
Google and Apple both come late to the market with Web-to-TV streaming software
and peripherals. Sony, LG, Samsung, Panasonic and Vizio are all making
’Net-connected TV sets, though content access is typically limited to specific
platforms such as Netflix, Amazon and YouTube. Stand-alone set-top makers
include Roku and Boxee.
However late Google and Apple are to the game, it’s shaping up to be
an explosive one. In-Stat analysts said last month that Web-to-TV video is
growing faster than forecasters first expected. Market research now suggests
that by 2014, there will be 57 million U.S. broadband households watching
full-length, online video on TVs. Related revenues are projected to grow from
$2 billion to $17 billion in a five-year period.
-- Deborah D. McAdams
August 17, 2010: “Forget 3D,
Web-connected TV’s the Thing”
In-Stat says that 11 million “operator-provisioned hybrid set-top boxes
will be delivering online video content directly to the TV.”
May 21, 2010
: “Google TV
Revealed”
Google has confirmed its plans to launch TV software. The project brings
Google’s Android operating system and Chrome browser into TV sets, advancing
the current trend of convergence.
April 1, 2010
: “Panasonic Nixes Android
Addition”
The so-called “Google TV” initiative has yet to be confirmed by the
players, though subsequent reports have Panasonic and Samsung turning it down.
March 19, 2010
: “Google’s Android Is Getting Into TVs”
Google, Intel
and Sony are creating a custom TV browser, so say emerging reports about the
triad.
The New York Times said this week the three are
developing Google TV, an Internet-connected television platform based on its
Android operating system.