Google has launched ‘smart’ TV, a service that unites surfing on the internet with surfing TV channels.
The technology company has joined forces Sony Corp., Intel Corp. and Logitech International.
Google wants to turn televisions into giant monitors for internet browsing so it can make more money selling ads. The company generated nearly $24 billion in revenue last year, mostly from internet ads displayed on computer screens.
Although Google began selling ads for regular television programming three years ago, analysts say that has yielded paltry dividends so far.
“I think this is going to be the biggest improvement to television since colour,” Intel CEO Paul Otellini said.
At the demonstration, Google was able to conduct a series of internet searches in a drop-down box that appears at the top of television programs. The search results pointed to internet videos and other content related to the television program on the screen.
A telecast of a sporting event can be shrunk into a small “picture-in-picture” box so a viewer can look at statistics or other material about the game on TV.
Viewers can also make search requests by speaking into a remote that runs on Google’s Android operating system.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt described the potential of the internet TVs as mind-boggling, although he acknowledged it might be difficult for some consumers to grasp at first.
Other companies have tried to turn televisions into internet gateways with little success during the past decade.
But Google and its partners believe they have developed a system that will make internet TV simpler and more appealing.Sony will make the TVs, giving it a new product that could stand out from other flat-panel TVs on the market.
It will use microprocessors from Intel, which is hoping to lessen its dependence on personal computers; the Atom chip design that will serve as the brains of the smart TVs so far has mostly been used in inexpensive, lightweight laptops known as netbooks.
Google will provide the software, including Android and the company’s Chrome Web browser. Logitech will supply a special remote control and wireless keyboard.
The Daily Telegraph
