The question is - based on what they say is going to be released, what do you REALLY want to do on your TV.
This question may be a bit different based on the location of the TV in the home. On average there are a bit more than 2.5 TVs per household.
Think it through. Based on all of your options of how you can get information, what do you want pumped through your TV. At the end of a long day, what will you do with your TV when you turn it on. It is usually a place to escape for a few hours watching something entertaining. Relaxing and decompressing from a long day.
Let me know what you think! Article is below.
JZ
Google goes gaga for TV
By Jessica Van SackMonday, January 31, 2011 -
a battle is brewing over the future of television, and Google is making a big push to outgun Apple and others in the race to do for TVs what smartphones did for mobile technology.
Google TV allows users to surf the Web on their televisions while watching their favorite shows. TV sets can run Android apps, turning them into giant smartphones.
As it stands, the so-called set-top box market is like a sleeping giant. A handful of companies have tried — and no device, including Google TV, has blasted off like the iPhone or iPod. But analysts say the enhanced television platform, which integrates the Web with your favorite shows, is as well positioned as any of its competitors.
“It is an evolution,” said Rishi Chandra, head product manager for Google TV. “What’s different here is that when you’re buying a Google TV, the product is going to be changing all the time. The innovation is built inside the product.”
Indeed, part of the business model for Google TV depends on the product getting better as you own it. Google is constantly loading updates and fixing bugs.
In coming months, Google TV plans to roll out its Holy Grail: open-source applications on an Android platform, — allowing amateur techies and innovators alike to go to town and design useful tools and funky games that assure the product becomes as ever-changing as the smartphone.
“One of the things we recognize with Android is that the power of the phone got significantly better when you got to bring the Web to it,” Chandra said. “It turned out the Web made every part of the phone experience better. That was one lesson that we learned.”
Here’s what the future holds for your TV experience:
• Twitter updates scrolling across the screen that relate to all your favorite TV shows.
• Applications that allow you to video conference with your family in high-definition --— and for free, from anywhere in the world.
• Security camera footage showing you who’s at your front door in a split-screen view with your show of choice.
• The ability to shop for products during commercials or song tracks while they’re performed on shows like “American Idol.”
Logitech recently partnered with Google TV, running the platform on its $300 Revue, a set-top box.
Though set-top box sales slid an estimated 8 percent last year, Logitech’s third-quarter earnings report shows Google TV might be seeing a surge, calling the system a “highlight” during a period in which sales were $754 million, up 22 percent from the same quarter a year ago
As it stands, the so-called set-top box market is like a sleeping giant. A handful of companies have tried — and no device, including Google TV, has blasted off like the iPhone or iPod. But analysts say the enhanced television platform, which integrates the Web with your favorite shows, is as well positioned as any of its competitors.
“My sense is it’s most of the way there as an experience,” said Roger Kay, a Wayland-based computer industry analyst. “But whether it becomes a habit of people to use it, that’s not established yet.”
The goal of the set-top box market is a seamless integration of Web- and channel-surfing, which Google admits is a work in progress.“It is an evolution,” said Rishi Chandra, head product manager for Google TV. “What’s different here is that when you’re buying a Google TV, the product is going to be changing all the time. The innovation is built inside the product.”
Indeed, part of the business model for Google TV depends on the product getting better as you own it. Google is constantly loading updates and fixing bugs.
In coming months, Google TV plans to roll out its Holy Grail: open-source applications on an Android platform, — allowing amateur techies and innovators alike to go to town and design useful tools and funky games that assure the product becomes as ever-changing as the smartphone.
“One of the things we recognize with Android is that the power of the phone got significantly better when you got to bring the Web to it,” Chandra said. “It turned out the Web made every part of the phone experience better. That was one lesson that we learned.”
Here’s what the future holds for your TV experience:
• Twitter updates scrolling across the screen that relate to all your favorite TV shows.
• Applications that allow you to video conference with your family in high-definition --— and for free, from anywhere in the world.
• Security camera footage showing you who’s at your front door in a split-screen view with your show of choice.
• The ability to shop for products during commercials or song tracks while they’re performed on shows like “American Idol.”
Logitech recently partnered with Google TV, running the platform on its $300 Revue, a set-top box.
Though set-top box sales slid an estimated 8 percent last year, Logitech’s third-quarter earnings report shows Google TV might be seeing a surge, calling the system a “highlight” during a period in which sales were $754 million, up 22 percent from the same quarter a year ago
“We felt it was the first time someone was trying to create an open and equal system,” said Ashish Arora, vice president and general manager of Logitech’s digital home group.
While Google TV faces no shortage of competition, analysts say its biggest challenger, Apple TV, doesn’t have the same capability to access apps, a critical selling point for today’s tech-savvy consumers.
“Google’s model is aiming for a lot of other players to provide pieces of it,” said Kay, the Wayland analyst. “Apple likes to control the whole experience.”
While Google TV faces no shortage of competition, analysts say its biggest challenger, Apple TV, doesn’t have the same capability to access apps, a critical selling point for today’s tech-savvy consumers.
“Google’s model is aiming for a lot of other players to provide pieces of it,” said Kay, the Wayland analyst. “Apple likes to control the whole experience.”
Still, he said Google has not been “as supportive with its partners as Microsoft is.” He added, “I remain suspicious because of their record in this area.”
