Samsung To Also Produce Google TV-Based HDTVs Next Year
As of today, Sony is the only company producing televisions with Google
TV built right in. There's a Logitech Revue box for adding Google TV
capabilities to existing television sets, but Sony is the only one out
there making entire TVs based around Google TV. But they won't have that
advantage for too long. While Sony's Google TV-based sets will
definitely fly off of shelves this holiday season, Samsung will soon be
giving Sony a lot of needed competition.
Samsung stands as the world's largest TV maker, and they're planning to make an announcement in January (maybe at CES?) that they will be producing Google TV-based televisions as well. There's clearly interest and demand surrounding it, and after Google gets the content deals worked out with the four major networks, all roads will be clear for the service to truly take off.
There are still a lot of details to be worked out. The company's head of TV said that it's "open" to using Intel's chips for the sets, but nothing has been set in stone. It wasn't too long ago that even the mere thought of using a high-powered GPU or CPU inside a TV would have gotten you laughed at; now, it's the opposite. Connected HDTVs are already the rage, so throwing Google TV into the mix shouldn't hurt. We're guessing the Google TV landscape will be a lot more crowded in just a few months, and you can definitely count Samsung "in" at this point.
As an update, Samsung has responded to these claims. Here is the reply from the company: "For Samsung, the connected TV era began more than three years ago and achieved a breakthrough in 2010 with the introduction of Samsung Apps, the world’s first TV application store now available in more than 120 countries. Our success has been built on an open platform strategy through which we have partnered with diverse content and service providers via our Internet@TV service, including Google properties such as YouTube, Picasa, and Maps. Samsung is focused on delivering the most complete smart TV experience to consumers and this will guide our approach as we consider introducing new services or platforms such as with Google. A relationship with Google TV is currently under consideration but no decision has yet been reached."
Samsung stands as the world's largest TV maker, and they're planning to make an announcement in January (maybe at CES?) that they will be producing Google TV-based televisions as well. There's clearly interest and demand surrounding it, and after Google gets the content deals worked out with the four major networks, all roads will be clear for the service to truly take off.
There are still a lot of details to be worked out. The company's head of TV said that it's "open" to using Intel's chips for the sets, but nothing has been set in stone. It wasn't too long ago that even the mere thought of using a high-powered GPU or CPU inside a TV would have gotten you laughed at; now, it's the opposite. Connected HDTVs are already the rage, so throwing Google TV into the mix shouldn't hurt. We're guessing the Google TV landscape will be a lot more crowded in just a few months, and you can definitely count Samsung "in" at this point.
As an update, Samsung has responded to these claims. Here is the reply from the company: "For Samsung, the connected TV era began more than three years ago and achieved a breakthrough in 2010 with the introduction of Samsung Apps, the world’s first TV application store now available in more than 120 countries. Our success has been built on an open platform strategy through which we have partnered with diverse content and service providers via our Internet@TV service, including Google properties such as YouTube, Picasa, and Maps. Samsung is focused on delivering the most complete smart TV experience to consumers and this will guide our approach as we consider introducing new services or platforms such as with Google. A relationship with Google TV is currently under consideration but no decision has yet been reached."
