Currently viewing the category:
"Hardware"
Rumors have been swirling around Google’s highly secretive “Project Tungsten”, a media streaming device which Google recently filed an application with the FCC for permission to test outside of the lab. Very limited knowledge of the device suggests that it is a kind of Android Powered all-compassing home entertainment device which acts as a hub to rally TV, internet, and “other home electronics equipment”, and it will be controlled by either smart phone or tablet via a blue-tooth connection. With the recent Google-Motorola acquisition, it is also rumored that Motorola will be the manufacturer.
While still quite vague on details of functionality, I imagine Project Tungsten to be the ultimate Google TV: a device which acts as a lighting rod for all media-streaming efforts, siphoning music, television, radio and all forms of internet-based offerings (podcasts, YouTube videos, Hulu Television shows, sports, etc.) all into one place. Just imagine being able to turn on your hyper-evolved Google TV and browse for anything and everything entertainment related with literally a single search.
With whispers surrounding Project Tungsten getting louder, we could know details very soon. Will the project be a new direction for Google TV, or will it be something else entirely? It is rumored for release this year, so stay tuned as more informations surfaces.
[via Mashable]
Google has stated that since the recent update, Google TV activation rates have “more than doubled”. Now boasting more than 150 dedicated apps in the Android Market, Google TV continues to adapt to meet the expectations of it’s users, now by teaming up with Marvell, a worldwide leader in chipsets, who have announced that the new Foresight Platform, powered by the Marvell ARMADA 1500 HD Media System-on-a-Chip (SoC), will be replacing Intel chips in the emerging 2012 Google TV hardware.
According to Marvell’s own announcement, the new chips offer tremendous processing power, are energy-efficient, and more affordable– perfect for allowing Google to lower their price points and reach ever more consumers.
[via InteractiveTV Today]
Sony took advantage of CES 2012 to affirm it’s faith in Google TV by debuting an updated version of their Blu-ray player to be released this summer, along with an all new product to fill the gap that Logitech is leaving behind: a Google TV set-top box to be released in the Spring. Both recently announced items will feature all the perks of 2.0, plus a few fancy tricks to rival the competition.
Making dedicated space for the QWERTY keyboard seems to be at the top of the re-design list this year, as well as a touch-pad remote. Sony’s version will also be responsive to motion via a three-axis control system and will be outfitted with voice-search functionality. Sounds fancy, Sony (and it looks pretty darn good, too).
[via Cnet]
CES 2012 was a major stage for the blossoming smart TV market, with a major focus being the new names getting on board with Google TV and the updated gadgetry they will use to lure consumers. In support of an earlier bold statement by Google, Lenovo and Vizio are joining Sony, Samsung and LG in the production of Google TVs.
The Lenovo K91 Smart TV is the first of it’s kind to run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and is already available in China 42″ and 50″ sizes, to be released elsewhere at an unknown future time. It’s features include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.5 Ghz processor with 1GB of RAM, SD card storage and a 5 mega pixel webcam.
Vizio’s Google TV, to be debuted in Summer 2012, dresses Honeycomb in a smooth look similar to that of it’s tablets and features DNLA-based content sharing capabilities. Vizio is dedicated to staying up to date with the evolution of Google TV between now and their summer release date, talking closely with Google in continual development.
Both sets boast uuber fancy remote controls to tantalize any gadget lover: touch screen technology, bluetooth, QWERTY keyboard, a built in microphone, and dedicated Netflix, Amazon, and Vudu buttons are some of the collective treasures these new contenders will offer.
Stay tuned as we keep you updated on the exploding options in the land of Google TV–with the increasing number of integrated options, perhaps Google TV will finally get it’s time to shine.
[via Digital Spy and Washington Post]
We sure think Google TV is great, but is it yet capable of total TV domination? Google chairman Eric Schmidt sure thinks so. In a bold statement during an interview at Le Web conference in France, Schmidt made the following statement:
“We’ve just released version two, and by the summer of 2012, the majority of televisions you see in the television stores here will have Google TV embedded in it.”
Well, considering the Honeycomb update came about 4 months late (with my Revue having just been updated today, hooray!), and Logitech having just declined to pump out new product, that’s a pretty hearty prediction (or, is it an admission?). Is version 2 so powerful that it will completely change the fate of Google TV in less than a year? Will more hardware developers and consumers alike welcome Google TV into their sets? And what’s got Google feeling this cocky so early on in round two? Stay tuned to see what Google’s got up its sleeve, and to those of you who only very recently got Honeycomb, enjoy!
[via AdroidOS.in]
Logitech announced today that the Revue will be getting the long-awaited Honeycomb update this week. Sony Google TV’s got the update in early November, at which time we were told that the Revue was soon to follow. While I guess a month wasn’t a terribly long wait, it sure felt like it to us! In fact, we were starting to wonder if the update wasn’t coming at all, what with Logitech’s recent statement about pulling out of Google TV. But alas, Logitech is still hoping to clear those warehouse shelves via Version 2.0.
For those of you already using the Revue, simply make sure that your unit is hooked up, turned on and connected to the web– an automatic screen pop-up will require that you accept the update when the time has come. New Revue users will be expected to receive the updated version automatically upon start-up.
Along with the improved features of Android 3.1, which include access to the Android Market and easier-to-navigate search features, the Revue boasts “improvements to the Logitech Media Player”, with no detail as to what exactly that means. Luckily we will be able to see for ourselves in just a few short days, so stay tuned for updates.
[via Logitech Blog]
LG will be showcasing its upcoming Google TV at CES 2012, and it is likely that Samsung will be soon to follow. Though Samsung’s version won’t be unveiled at CES in January, an executive with the company told reporters in Seoul that talks with Google are in their final stages, so we should be seeing some Samsung Google TV goods cropping up as 2012 progresses.
Though no details seem to be available yet, our best guess is that Samsung is making a TV-set, as their previous Google TV attempt, a set-top box and blu-ray DVD player in one, was never released. As both LG and Samsung are likely on board to boost TV sales and prices, it will be interesting to see if a fresh wave of Google TV products will do any better than the first. With Logitech backing out of the future of Google TV and Sony undoubtedly feeling a bit burned as well, theres plenty of opportunity for both Samsung and LG to either sink or swim. Stay tuned to see what products and profits will result.
[via LA Times]
It looks like LG is stepping in where Logitech has bowed out: LG is preparing it’s first Google TV for launch at CES 2012 in January. The move is a follow up to when LG was in line to demonstrate Google TV products at CES 2010 before stopping production plans at Google’s request, a request that saved LG from the first round of Google TV disappointment. Back with a vengeance in version 2, Google TV is in need of new hardware partners since Logitech’s recent vow not to replace or further produce the Revue.
The specifics of the new LG Google TV are unclear at this time, as sources have only said that it will be a TV set with Google TV 2.0 integration. Hopefully LG will tread lightly, not making the same pricing and large-scale production mistakes as Sony and Logitech did in the first round. We will keep you posted as the LG Google TV devices hit shelves.
[via Slash Gear]
After launching its music store just a few days ago, Google Music has rolled out a Google Music App for Google TV. The service, which is integrated with Google+ for social sharing, is also free to sign up for in the US and offers 13 million tracks from the archives of Sony Music Entertainment, Universal and EMI, as well as a number of indie labels. The app for Google TV allows you to stream from your library of music stored in the cloud and is integrated into the Google TV system such that you can set up playlists to act as a soundtrack of a photo slideshow. The app is available via the Android Market (assuming you’ve gotten the Honeycomb update) and requires enrollment in the service on your computer.
[via The Verge]
Hey everyone, remember a few weeks back when we speculated that Logitech may be pulling out of Google TV? Well, as it turns out, it looks like we were right. As stated by Logitech’s CEO Guerrino De Luca, Logitech is done with Google TV:
To make the long story short, we thought we had invented [sliced] bread and we just made them. [We made a commitment to] just build a lot because we expected everybody to line up for Christmas and buy these boxes [at] $300 [...] that was a big mistake.
While Logitech still undoubtedly hopes to unload their remaining stock of Revues with what may be a renewed wave of interest with the Honeycomb update, their work on Google TV is done. De Luca noted that while Google TV may have marketplace success in the future, he believed any notable success is still a long way off, and that Logitech will not be involved if and when that success occurs.
Logitech, which “executed a full scale launch with a beta product” (De Luca), lost $100 million dollars when consumer demand failed to (even remotely) meet expectations. It really must have hurt if they are swearing off Google TV forever, despite acknowledging that it may still have a significant future. If Logitech is out, should Google worry about losing Sony, which has also suffered significant losses as a result of low Google TV interest? Stay tuned to find out.
[via MacRumors]
Social
Professional WordPress Themes
AppleXnews- CyberChimps Professional WordPress Themes to Launch iFeature Pro 3 on November 28th, Cyber Monday November 22, 2011
- CyberChimps.com Launches iFeature A Free Apple-like Premium WordPress Theme April 6, 2011
- Verizon confirms iPhone 4 will get $30 unlimited data January 25, 2011
- Multicore A5 Processor to Power iPad 2, iPhone 5, and Future Apple TV? January 15, 2011
Loading ...