Print Page 4/1/2010

OSAKA, JAPAN: Panasonic is not into Android, or rather Android won’t be getting into Panasonic any time soon, according to Bloomberg. Reports emerged last month that Google was working with Intel and Sony to create a custom TV Internet browser based on its Android operating system. The so-called “Google TV” initiative has yet to be confirmed by the players, though subsequent reports have Panasonic and Samsung turning it down.

TV makers have been up to their eyeballs in alligators trying to featurize and differentiate their sets now that more than half of American households have an HDTV. 3DTVs are hitting the market slowly, but public demand is perceived as tending toward TVs with integrated Web-surfing capabilities. Incorporating Google’s Android would be a direct route, though the Bloomberg item quotes Panasonic Consumer Electronics chief Bob Perry saying that Android would make TVs too expensive. The necessary processing power would add to the cost of the sets, he said.

Panasonic is meanwhile bending into 3DTV with enabled home theater systems. Its new VT 20 50-inch plasma 3DTV system debuted last month at $2,500. The “3D” part of the package adds around $500, Perry told the San Francisco Chronicle. An extra pair of shutter glasses is another $150. The TVs were bundled with 3D Blu-ray players at a cost of around $2,900 at select Best Buy stores. UberGizmo said they sold out within a week.

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.

March 3, 2010 "3DTVs Hit the Market”
3DTV sets are hitting the U.S. market. Samsung started taking preorders last month at Amazon.com. Panasonics are set to go on sale at Best Buy big boxes March 10.   Print Page