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Sony Google TV devices got the Honeycomb update this week, and though us GTV Hub-ers are still waiting on the Revue to come around, TechCrunch is already talking 2.0. In summary, they are dubbing it beautiful but not brilliant– a definite improvement but still with vasst short fallings. As more and more reviews surface it will be interesting to see if this is the general consensus: did Google miss their mark again? Hopefully Logitech will jump on the 2.0 bandwagon in a hurry, so I can find out for myself! Stay tuned folks, the GTV Hub Google TV 2.0 Official Review is soon to come!
With the coming of Google TV 2.0, giddiness over access to the Android App Market has left another key app-related feature unnoticed: Google TV users will be able to install non-market apps as well. This feature builds a space for creation and proliferation within separate app markets, as well as space in which other Android-powered copycat streaming devices that could compete with Google TV products.
In the GIGAOM article from which this is article is sourced, a comparison is drawn between the tablet market and the Google TV market, as tablets provide an easy to see example of a wide diversification of spin-off products which offer access to third-party app markets, but even without a tablet comparison its easy to see how similar Google TV copy-cats are already abundant in the streaming TV space: Boxee, Roku, Netgear, WD, Seagate and others all have options available to consumers. While it is likely that these impersonators don’t have access to the Android Market, it also seems likely that with time and interest, more and more apps will be optimized for these devices, or they may simply elect to go Android themselves.
Could this seemingly unchecked creative space for both product proliferation and app optimization eventually lead to competition for Google TV products? And more importantly, does Google TV have anything to fear?
Well, the good news is that Google has strict requirements for Google TV hardware makers: devices must support ARM chips, include plenty of RAM, and work with a cable box and a full QWERTY keyboard. Hence, it seems hard to believe that others will sneak to the forefront of innovation or customer need. However, if other contenders in the connected TV space go Android, grab enough apps and offer access to a separate app market, they could potentially steal some thunder.
The key will be to avoid too much fragmentation: multiple Android-based platforms could cause consumer confusion and apps that work on one platform and not another could lead to developer frustration. On the other hand, any device that gets consumers using Android over iOS could only help Google TV succeed. Besides, impersonation is the most sincere form of flattery, and competition breeds innovation.
[via GIGAOM]
Yep, it’s finally happening: Honeycomb, the Android Market, and what look like many other pretty sweet improvements for functionality and navigability are all finally coming to Google TV in round two, and they are less than a week away. Starting with Sony Google TV’s and with the Logitech Revue to follow “shortly thereafter”, Google is releasing the long awaited Honeycomb Android 3.1 update “early next week”, and catapulting Google TV into it’s next phase. From the official announcement as well as the flashy overview (*drool*), it appears that Google has really taken the past year of setbacks to really focus on improving the Google TV experience by responding to user feedback. The new and improved Google TV is set apart in four major ways, which you can read about after the break.
It looks like we may have spoken a bit too soon, as it would appear that Logitech is still very much in the game. Or is it just a game? Updated Logitech Revue packages are now sporting a sticker that boasts, “New & Improved: Google TV now with Android 3.1 and Android Market”, but the boxes don’t actually contain Revues that will be running Honeycomb. A Logitech rep stated the following:
We’d like to clarify that these products do not include the next version of Google TV software. The boxes were prematurely updated with the stickers in anticipation of the next release of the Google TV software, which, once available, will be a free and automatic update pushed to all Logitech Revue boxes that are installed and connected to the Internet.
So, Logitech has made it clear that the software hasn’t yet been updated, but could they be implying that at least the hardware has? Or, are they simply suggesting that we are at last extraordinarily close to the hack-free Honeycomb release?
Either way, the quarterly earnings that Logitech released overnight may be enough to disprove our prior suggestion that Logitech may be pulling out of Google TV: $7.9 million in sales from the Revue and it’s accessories since the price drop doesn’t seem like an awful sales figure for a product that seemed like a financial failure. It might be time to contribute to those numbers further: if you don’t have one yet, it’s probably best to get your hands on a Google TV so you can be front row when Honeycomb hits.
[via engadget]
If you’re into WordPress and love Android, then the latest from theme shop CyberChimps may be right up your alley. Earlier today the company announced that DroidPress is now available for free on WordPress.org. It features a very Android look and feel, support for post formats, social icons, offers multiple widgetized areas, and more.
The company also sells a premium version of the theme called DroidPress Pro, which offers a featured post carousel, a feature slider, plenty of per-page options and lots of other goodies. DroidPress Pro is currently on sale for $35.00 for a limited time only.
If you would like to download the DroidPress WordPress theme for free, you may do so from WordPress.org here.
[via CyberChimps]
Update: Perhaps they read our post, but the folks at Logitech’s PR firm got back to us, although their lips are remaining sealed at this point. This post is obviously speculation, but we believe it is still very much warranted. Stay tuned.
We all know that Google TV hasn’t proven quite the cash cow that it’s creators and contributors had hoped, and as everything slows down further with the delayed release of Honeycomb and Google TV 2.0, we are starting to wonder if Logitech could be cutting their losses and pulling out of the Google TV game. We recently reached out to some Logitech Revue reps in regards to snagging some giveaway goodies for our readers and instead we were greeted with silence. That, paired with the price slashes that the Revue experienced this past year and the lack of Revue-focused hype for Google TV 2.0, has us wondering where the Logitech love is at. We’ve seen some software update leaks for the Revue, but haven’t heard any buzz about new and improved hardware, and while Sony shows off what’s soon to come, Logitech seems to be slinking into the background. Could it be that Logitech is no longer factoring Google TV into it’s future?
Tell me, Google TV fans, at what point am I compromising my journalistic integrity by reporting too many rumors? Well, in the spirit of throwing integrity to the wind, I’ve got more speculation as to when Google TV 2.0 and the Honeycomb update will finally drop! According to Scott Webster of Android Guys its finally clear that 2.0 is coming in full form on November 8th, and will be unveiled at Streaming Media West 2011, an annual event that encompasses everything streaming-media related (in case you couldn’t deduce that from the title).
From whence did this speculation spring, you ask? Well, from the extraordinarily vague comments that Donagh O’Malley made a few weeks ago, the fact that O’Malley will be speaking at the November 8th event, and from the fact that the “final” add-on for the Android SDK was recently released. If you ask me, I’d say one of Android Guys‘ readers was more accurate when he assessed, “So – we’re lookin’ at around Easter then..?”. Take it or leave it, this rumor isn’t worth much until it happens.
[via AndroidGuys]
When Google TV first launched about a year ago, traditional television ran for the hills: major networks blocked Google TV users from accessing web-based content in the fear that free online episodes would eventually make live, paid television obsolete. Now, Google TV is marrying catch-up streaming with paid traditional television by offering Google TV apps for major networks like TNT and TBS that require pay TV authentication. These apps, which showed up on the Android Market briefly a few weeks ago and have since been taken down (presumably for further tweaking), have an option for paid TV subscribers to log in with their cable subscription credentials so that they can then access full episodes the day after they air and play older episodes from an extended catalog.
Network apps requiring pay TV authentication will likely smooth over relations and encourage other networks to embrace Google TV, but its a bit contradictory to what most consumers expect when they think of an internet enabled TV. Stay tuned to see if Google TV has succeeded in playing nice with traditional TV, or if this new relationship with major networks scares off consumers.
[via gigaom]
More possible good news for the future of Google TV (be still my beating heart!): Netgear is evaluating Google TV as a possible avenue for its media streaming plans. With its NeoTV streamer being released later this month, Netgear’s present verdict in regards to Google TV is that “as a platform it’s not there yet,” and that Google TV appeals to a different audience than NeoTV. But alas, every shortcoming leaves room for opportunity. For those of you who are still rooting for Google TV, I’d say that it’s in a great position to attain the come-back of all come-backs, what with Honeycomb on the verge of release, talk of Google TV heading over seas, and the Google-Motorola buyout paving the way for a distribution scheme. Perhaps Netgear (and consumers) will soon start to take Google TV a bit more seriously.
[via slashgear]
A second leak of the Honeycomb build for the Logitech Revue indicates that things are coming along nicely: it appears that the beta bugs have been worked out and Netflix functionality is back (hallelujah!). Word is that it runs better, too, and users have reported that Google TV specific apps are finally hitting the Android Market. Looks like things are finally on track such that the next “leak” may be official. Stay tuned for more details as we move ever closer to Honeycomb’s release!
[via slashgear]
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