By: Hillel Fuld
Google made some nice announcements at their recent IO. Android 2.2, dubbed Froyo seems pretty exciting especially the ability to push contacts, apps, media, and even URLs to your Android device, over the air. However, the most significant announcement was definitely Google TV. It seems every few months I write a blog post that can be called “Google Trying to Revolutionize the <enter the name of a multibillion dollar industry of you choice> industry”. They did it with search, they did it with advertising, they did it with email, they did it with GPS, and they did it with mobile. Now, they are quite possibly going to do it with the TV industry.
However, as powerful and dominant as Google is, there are many skeptics out there that claim there is no saving the TV industry, and that Google will fail at bringing the Web to the TV and the TV to the Web.
We really do not know too much about this new product, but it will involve Android on TVs, Flash, Chrome, and a whole bunch of big names such as Sony. Samsung is said to be on the fence about partnering with Google on this, but Intel, Logitech, Adobe, and Best Buy are very much on board.
You can read all about Google TV, but I am not sure that will clear things up for you. There seems to be a lot of open questions surrounding this product, questions like how it will ultimately make it into living rooms around the globe. Will it primarily be built into new TVs or will it come with an extra accessory such as a bulky annoying box?
Whatever the case may be, and whatever the future holds for Google TV, the ability to search for any video content on your TV with the power of a Google search is exciting. Combine that with the ability to use your iPhone or Android device as a remote control using your voice and you got yourself a product that is sure to excite consumers around the world.
The big question that will ultimately determine the success of Google TV is its implementation. Will it be neat and convenient like Google.com is or will it be a mess of a product like Google Wave or other products we have seen over the years?
What do you think about Google TV? Does it stand a chance to revolutionize the TV industry as we know it or will it be something we barely remember ten years down the road? Please let us know in the comments.