Some time back the rumour mill wound itself into a frenzy over the possibility of a Google TV Service. Like they say, there’s no smoke without fire and at this year’s Google I/O conference the internet juggernaut are to present the first look at an internet TV service developed alongside Sony, Intel and Logitech. It appears that internet TV is about to take a major step forward.
Previous rumours that suggested the service would provide an integration of familiar shows and YouTube videos weren’t far wide of the mark. SmartTV is aiming to provide seamless transition between internet services, videos and music alongside the standard TV service, and be built directly into TVs, Blueray players and set-top boxes, making a transition to this service far easier than initially expected. One aspect of the service that many of the rumours never got hold of, were details about the team behind it. With respective industry leaders such as Intel, Logitech and in particular Sony making up the team behind the development, the potential of SmartTV certainly carries a great deal more weight.
The collaboration could work out particularly well for both Sony and Google, as the backing of a major player in the TV industry will help give Google more marketability, while the service itself could serve to differentiate Sony from the rest of the TV provider herd. The service is expected to be announced at the conference in San Francisco in front of 3,000 software developers in the hope that this will incite an outbreak of independent development. Google are clearly hoping that, in the same way as they did with smart phones, they can attain some useful applications for the service from third party developers.
With internet ready TVs already surpassing 1 million sales, the platform is there for Google to roll out their service, and with Sony’s backing there will certainly be the hardware available to power it through.
The key feature that makes SmartTV such a major step forward is advertising. Google has always been about taking advertising to a new level, and the internet allowed adverts to be tailored to each person’s preferences in a way that television has never achieved before. With SmartTV, broadcast advertising could undergo a major transition, which is big news for advertisers and viewers alike. For this to truly work effectively Google, in order to power their advertising platform, will have to gather information through set-top boxes and TV’s in the same way they gather data on internet browsing. But with Sony likely to attach the service to Blueray players, could they also be checking up on what films you choose to watch?
With the I/O conference due to feature 80 sessions, over 100 demonstrations and more than 5000 developers it will be interesting to see what comes out in the aftermath. The conference kicks off in full on the 19th of May.
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