Hi guys, remember me?
The launch of Google TV is upon us, with SONY offering four TV sets which have Google's software built in, and the Logitech Revue's entry into the market. As I've been reading over the reviews and previews on various tech blogs, it's become clear that while Google is developing two new platforms, pundits are only focusing on one when looking at the Google TV.
There has been a lot of news lately about the success of Android, and with good reason. The mobile phone OS has gone from a below par launch to exponential growth over the past two quarters. With all this buzz and hubbub, the fact Google TV is running on Android is certainly an attention grabber. The business model seems to mirror the mobile phone market, which indicates we can expect many more manufacturers introducing Google TV products. Also, there's been a lot of focus on the potential that apps will bring into our living rooms when they are made available sometime next year.
However, there is one major component of Google TV that has received far less attention than it deserves: Chrome. Because the Google TV uses an Intel chipset, it is able to be the only Android offering out there which also runs Chrome, Google's browser. Chrome represents the other key platform Google is developing. Before the end of the year, Google is supposed to be launching Chrome OS, an entire operating system for netbook devices built entirely around the browser. As part of this offering, they even have a Chrome "app marketplace" in development. This is a major aspect of Google TV's future. Their living room offering is poised to get the best of developments in both mobile (Android) and the browser (Chrome).
So it it quite amusing to read previews that lament the Google TV's Netflix app lacking the ability to add items to the Instant Queue, considering there happens to be a browser right there which can log into netflix.com and add the item (or even rearrange the queue, something no other set-top box enables). And the excitement about the potential of the Android Marketplace apps come mid-2011? I'm kind of stoked about the fact the Google TV essentially offers a desktop Chrome OS experience for the living room. In assessing the potential of Google TV, it's worthwhile to note that Chrome really isn't just a bullet point in a list of features, but its own list. It has the productivity capabilities of Google Docs, or the eCommerce capabilities of Amazon.com. It represents about 80-90% of the desktop computer experience on a screen between 32-54". So when discussing the future of the living room, and the role of Google TV, try to remember the browser, okay?
There appears to be a short term memory mindset in the internet business. We have seen that trying to limit access and control content flow has not worked (The decline and demise of the web portals such as AOL, Compuserve, etc.) Apple and Google are both trying to develop a theme of contraction rather than expansion. Sure there may be strategic reasons, but I am inclined to think they will end up with noses bloodied if you look at past trends. Everyone is dancing around the obvious fix for the internet: a customizable and intuitive personal portal model. Google is still playing with the concept of relevance in their AI and therein lies the snag: controlling content but still leaving opporuntities for new information that is wanted and needed.
I have had Logitech revue yesterday. It was great after setting up and use it. Except I have problem about language. It does not seem to support unicode as computer google browser. When I visit to website in my language, Vietnamese, it shows incorrect, the content is encoded then I can't read it. Please support utf-8 or unicode for it. Then it will be perfect.
Thanks,
Quang
toi khong hieu nhieu khi xem phim my vay thi xin hoi google tv co phu de tieng viet-nam
hay khong? trong khi xem chuong trinh cua google tv,xin email cho toi biet ket qua.
tran trong da ta./.