Google launches Google TV

Google has unveiled a new platform to bring web content to TVs. The Google TV software is based on the Android operating system and Chrome web browser. To launch the product, Google has partnered with Intel, which will supply its Atom processors, and hardware makers such as Sony and Logitech, which expect to deliver products running Google TV later this year. US-based satellite TV provider Dish has also signed up for the service, and will launch Google TV this fall. Google and Dish have been testing the platform for the past year with around 400 customers, and Dish plans to integrate the software into all its HD DVRs. Google said the software will work with any operator, offering access to video-on-demand as well as streaming video from the web. Google TV will also have the capability to run apps from the Android Market, offer integrated search for both traditional TV channels and 'over-the-top' services, allow customisation for a personalised home screen and include a picture-in-picture layout to access multiple windows simultaneously.
The planned Sony and Logitech Google TV devices will run the Intel Atom CE4100 processor. Sony plans to introduce 'Sony Internet TV', a range of TVs incorporating the Google TV platform in the US in the autumn, with the line-up featuring both a standalone TV model and set top box-type unit incorporating a Blu-ray Disc drive. Logitech will introduce a companion box that brings Google TV to any brand of HDTV and set-top box. The box will incorporate Logitech’s Harmony remote control technology, and will include a controller that combines keyboard and remote control capabilities. The company also has plans to introduce an HDTV camera and video chat for Google TV, along with additional choices for navigation and control, including apps to turn a smartphone into an advanced controller for Google TV and home-entertainment systems. US retailer Best Buy was signed up to distribute the new products; Google TV devices will be sold at Best Buy locations nationwide later this year. Finally, Google said that the upcoming Adobe Flash Player 10.1, currently in beta testing for Android 2.2, will be integrated directly into the Google Chrome browser on Google TV.
For More detail visit: http://www.google.com/tv/