Telecoms Tech

Google’s “all-new” TV offering is being rolled out in Europe next month, marking what the search giant will hope is a vastly improved version of their previous attempt at smart TV.

Google, in partnership with Sony, will release the NSZ-GS7 internet player as well as the NSZ-GS9 Blu-ray player to provide a Google smart TV service outside the United States for the first time.

As a result the technology will be available both in-built and as a supplementary “buddy” box for those who don’t wish to upgrade their existing TVs.

The original Google TV, in partnership with Logitech, failed to take off; partly because of how expensive the showpiece product Revue was, but there was also a school of thought which suggested that rather than being too slow to embrace new technology, Google and Logitech went too far off the other end with consumers not picking the idea up.

The question here though is will it be picked up on this time?

The service will essentially overlay normal TV viewing, much like various interactive TV services do now, but clearly with more flexibility and agility. And this could be a potential problem; with many pay-TV subscriptions, as well as being able to plug in a laptop and firing away. So what can Google TV bring to the table?

Google does have an impressive portfolio and a heavy arsenal with which to hit smart TV viewers however, from Chrome to Youtube, as well as a wide variety of apps in Google Play, and preaching convenience to the masses has always been a good idea.

One of the more interesting features is a remote with a QWERTY keyboard on the back. Writing exclusively for AppsTech, Michael Lantz argued that the one thing holding TV back was the remote control, which remains “the single biggest hurdle for TV interactivity over the past 20 years”.

Watch out for further announcements on Google TV at the Google I/O conference this week, with Google TV head of global distribution Suveer Kothari stoking the fire by saying that this was “the beginning of a journey of transformation for the TV”.

How important a battleground will connected TVs be in the near future? Do you agree that Google is wise to partner up with Sony on the hardware side? Find out more Google TV, TV apps and Smart TV news here.