Introducing the Google TV
Okay, Teluglobers watch the video to see what this new Google TV is all about. If you are interested in knowing more about the event, I posted the Engadget liveblog below for your reading pleasure. This event happened yesterday May 20, 2010. The Google TV truly is a great package. Many companies attempted similar concept in the past including Microsoft (Mediacenter PC) and Apple (Yesss that horrible Apple TV). Both Microsoft and Apple failed. Microsoft wanted us to use the PC desktop rather than the TV stream from Comcast or Verizon FIOS. Apple choose the other way, the iTunes way. Apple wanted to use iTunes for everything ignoring the TV streams. Looks to me Google truly beat them all by thinking the right way. Which is leaving the choice to the viewer for choosing between the TV stream and Web (using Browser). In addition to Google’s smart engineers, Sony,Intel,Adobe and Logitech put their weight behind this effort. If Google can get Samsung and LG on board, this product is capable of changing our lives like the iPhone/ Smartphones did.
[Via Engadget]
10:45AM Eric Schmidt is wrapping things up. “We need you to take this platform and build extraordinary things that we haven’t thought of. We need your precious time.” A very exciting time for the medium television. Eric thanks everyone, we clap, music starts blasting, and it’s over! If you’re still reading, thank you!
10:44AM Howie watch: “There’s opportunities to expand this universe above and beyond. It’s evolutionary. It’s upgradeable. It’s active, it’s not only interactive, it’s proactive. It grows and it grows… it really is a very big deal.” Nothing special, we just like the way he talks.
10:40AM Can we turn on daytime television again?
10:39AM If ever I had a dream of being in a room with powerful CEOs talking, it’s long dead now.
10:38AM Finally, a WebTV nod care of Dish’s Charles Ergan… and that’s about it thus far. Never fear, we’ll keep you updated.
10:33AM A funny quip from Sir Howie. “When you beat Apple [with Sony Ericsson’s phone in Japan], you dominate.” Man do we love this guy.
10:28AM Erich to Shantanu, “Why are we fighting for Flash?” Answer: It’s really about getting web content to any device. “As far as we’re concerned, this is really trying to create family harmony.”
10:27AM We’d like to take this moment, as our Managing Editor Nilay Patel would like to ask the world at large how is this any different than Web TV.
10:26AM It’s CEO Q&A time, which despite what you might expect, likely won’t be bringing any more news.
10:25AM Charles Ergan of Dish, Brian Dunn of Best, and “the most interestingly controversial person” lately, Shantanu Narayen of Adobe.
10:25AM Paul Otellini of Intel, Sir Howard Stringer of Sony, Gerarld Quindlen of Logitech.
10:24AM “Of the things we did… you saw the full potential of cloud computing,. You saw the ability to actually go from server to client — in this case the television — and you can even program it. Using the powerful tools we use every day.” The chairs have propagated. Up comes CEOs of the “significant partners” that made this happen.
10:23AM Eric Schmidt’s posse? A quartet of white chairs. And later on, hopefully some people to fill those seats.
10:22AM Eric Schmidt takes the stage.
10:22AM Early 2011 for SDK and APIs, it goes open source by that Summer.
10:21AM Partnership with Dish Network. Subscribers will be able to “seamlessly integrate content” into Google TV. Best Buy is the retail partner for, well, selling you the gear.
10:20AM All powered by Intel. The whispers couldn’t have been more dead-on.
10:20AM … and a new set of peripherals, but really, it’s Logitech. Are you surprised?
10:20AM A full line of integrated TVs and an integrated Blu-ray player. Second is from Logitech, a companion box.
10:19AM 3 Google TV devices. First from Sony, as the rumors have long suggested.
10:19AM Coming to market in a big way. Time to tout partners!
10:19AM Google will be open source to Android and Chrome source trees.
10:18AM We get teased about a translation app — closed captions for whatever language needed. A great idea, but unfortunately we don’t get to see much of anything.
10:13AM Listen and watch now includes video content.
10:13AM Listen for Android is getting a Google TV-sized upgrade… barring some further technical difficulties. It’s the Bluetooth, people!
10:11AM Built-in video, navigation, DVR implementation. At this point, we might as well ask that you at home also turn off our Bluetooth devices, just in case it’s causing unnecessary from so many miles away into this conference room.
10:10AM The NBA.com app is infinitely more interesting than anything we’ve seen. Something about sports organizations that seem to put on the best software demos as of late.
10:09AM A beta of YouTube Lean Back will launch in the next few weeks on the website.
10:08AM And like that, YouTube’s rental service just got a boost in relevance.
10:08AM His friend’s favorited videos go into your feed. Preferences feed into news feed. Channels, both pre-set or of your own making.
10:07AM YouTube Lean Back, the entire YouTube library “that you can just lean back and enjoy.” Okay, now we’re seeing some apps catered to the screen size. A personalized video feed “of the content you want to watch.”
10:06AM Hunter Walk, Director of YouTube, takes the stage.
10:04AM Google TV-specific SDK will become available shortly after launch.
10:04AM Going through browser-based market, trying to figure out if they’re pushing the app to the correct Google TV box. Turns out they are, and now Twitter is on GTV. Still not quite the best use of the screen real estate. Any chance we can see a more optimized demo?
10:02AM The mobile Pandora app runs “perfectly” on Google TV — except for the ugly scale caused by a larger screen size.
10:01AM “If you’re application doesn’t require phone-specific software, it should work [already] on Google TV.”
10:00AM Soon, Android apps will work on the TV. The mobile version of Android market works on Google TV.
9:59AM Time to delve into the software. Three portions: built on Android 2.1, with the ability to do OTA updates. Google Chrome browser. “We needed a fully web-compatible browser to browse what’s out there.” Third component: full Flash 10.1 plug-in.
9:58AM Tools will be released for developers to create their own experience.
9:58AM Two Android devices controlling same box. Rashi pushes video from his phone to Google TV. Conan O’Brien and Vic doing the string dance together — perfect for this crowd.
9:55AM GPU for advanced graphics / web viewing, dedicated DSP for audio hi-def and surround sound. Number four: input devices. All will include keyboard and “pointing devices.”
9:56AM GPU for advanced graphics / web viewing, dedicated DSP for audio hi-def and surround sound. Number four: input devices. All will include keyboard and “pointing devices.” He pulls out an Android device and uses voice search. Okay, now we’re more interested.
9:54AM Now on to the technology explanation portion. WiFi / ethernet built-in. Second: existing cable or satellite connected to Google box via HDMI.
9:51AM We’re now seeing Yahoo widge…erm, sorry. A Flickr feed.
9:51AM We’re not quite convinced this is in any way, shape, or form more convenient that using our mobile device — Android, even — to look up the same stats and have the full HD screen for Kobe.
9:50AM Okay, now we’re touting picture-in-picture… basketball game in lower window, standard browser in the main screen. “It’s just a simple feature.”
9:47AM Just so we’re clear: we’ve spent the last 15 minutes going through an internet search bar tied to DVR, and at least 10 minutes of that was just a crowd of thousands together watching daytime television.
9:45AM “What’s amazing is I just created my own [Elmo-centric] episode of Sesame Street.” You can’t do that on normal television.
9:44AM More demos of personalization. His son loves watching Elmos on Sesame Street. “He actively dislikes all other characters which makes watching a full episode kind of a pain.” Can directly search for Elmo — top result is a bookmark for Sesame Street online content tagged for the Tickle Me Red Monster.
9:43AM “If we’re going to show you interesting stuff on TV, we better avoid the YouTube ones.”
9:43AM Now searching for YouTube.com and moving to the site away from live TV — just in the nick of time!
9:41AM Home screen, a quick launcher to all favorite content and applications. Customizable. Amazon and Netflix worked to get embedded content.
9:40AM Trailer streamed over standard browser. One-button flipping back to live TV. Another friendly reminder that daytime TV is quite a scandalous affair.
9:39AM For users, it doesn’t matter where the content comes from… they just want it quick and convenient.
9:38AM Searching for House. Special search results for everything on TV (Fox and USA) and the web (Fox, Hulu, and Amazon).
9:37AM And now it’s working! Okay, back to work everyone!
9:37AM Okay, we really do have to turn off our phones to help make this work. Let that be a warning to you, next time you’re in a crowd.
9:36AM TV is great!
9:36AM … and Octomon. No, we’re not going to share.
9:36AM Just learned an interesting fact about Nicolas Cage…
9:35AM “We should, um, switch to the other box.” Apparently it’s been switched. Just a friendly reminder to turn all cell phones off. “I can’t compete with you guys.” More pleas to the other box.
9:34AM Bluetooth connectivity apparently causing further malfunctions in the demo, for all boxes on stage. But while we wait, did you know you can get a sectional couch 48 months with no interest?
9:33AM Searching 30 Rock. Episode coming on today at 9:30, where you can set your DVR to record right from the menu.
9:32AM MSNBC selected. Google results, TV results take you straight to the right channel.
9:32AM And finally, now we’ve got a search bar up top of the screen. The Quick Search box, for both TV and web. “As simple to use as Google search.”
9:31AM We’re not stuck on watching Sex and the City. Keyboard malfunction, but we did manage to switch to Al Roker, girls dancing, and The Hangover. Hey, at least we’re entertained while we wait.
9:30AM Current guide system isn’t great. “What time is next Giants game?” “What are the next Seinfeld episodes.” Sidenote: can we just say daytime ads are great!?
9:29AM Nothing taken away — only add and enhance. All guides and menus still work, even same remote control. A second controller being used — not the actual device, still working with partners to make the best input.
9:28AM Demo time.
9:28AM Less time finding more time watching, control and personalize what you watch, make your tv content more interesting, and make your TV more… than just a TV (cue dramatic sound effects for that last bit).
9:27AM Combining best of TV and best of web into one entity. And here we go: Google TV. Where TV meets web and web meets TV.
9:26AM Second limitation: they’re all closed. Third limitation: many make you choose between TV and the web. “The minute you make a user choose, you’ve lost them. Because they dont’ know how to go back!” Users will most likely choose TV.
9:25AM “I’ll admit, we’re not the first to try this.” An argument for why these predecessors haven’t worked. 1 (of 3) reasons: dumbing down the web. “In effect, you’re recreating the web.” And that doesn’t work. “We need to find a way to bring the entire web to the television.”
9:24AM Two worlds — web and the TV content. People do crazy things to combine these worlds… like getting a group together to watch a laptop screen. Yeah, we’ve done… a few hundred times. This week.
9:24AM “More and more TV happening on the web.” But the premiere entertainment device is still the TV.
9:23AM Turns out people love TV. “It just works — it’s easy, reliable, and gets you access to cool stuff. It’s become such a natural and predictable parts of our lives you don’t ahve to think of anymore.” Not a lot of tech that can say that. “That’s pretty comforting [to many people].”
9:22AM Americans spend five hours per day watching TV — “more now than in the past.” $70 billion dollars: annual advertising spent in the US alone on TV. “Still no better medium to reach a wider and better audience than television.” Third interesting fact: 4 billion TV users worldwide.
9:17AM Let’s not forget the giant boastful elephant in the room — admob and the FTC approval. Doubt we’ll hear either
9:21AM “A new platform we believe will change the future of television.” But first, we’re talking about the present. Statistic time!
9:21AM Google TV!
9:21AM Rishi Chandra, group product manager, takes the stage. “We’re gonna ahve some fun today.”
9:20AM And now we’re at the halfway point, says Vic, if you’re keeping track.
9:20AM “Those who are watching on YouTube, I’m sorry — better register earlier next time.”
9:19AM Vic is lauding the Sprint EVO 4G, how great it is. At this very moment, our Sprint 3G goes out — coincidence?? Everyone gets a HTC EVO 4G today. Wow!
9:19AM Let’s not forget the giant boastful elephant in the room — admob and the FTC approval. Doubt we’ll hear either of those Buzz™ words today. Vic’s offering $100 free advertising to go try out the new tools. Way too sweeten the pot.
9:17AM A click to call ad. Using location to give user the option to call direcTV in order to make a pitch. “Very popular,” Vic claims. Next up, a click to call with maps and directions (coming shortly available).
9:15AM New today: expandable ad format. Turns out users would like to stay within context of ad and not leave the page — the same argument we heard in Apple’s ad push. Flixter app with vampire diaries ad can play trailer from within the page.
9:14AM Contextually relevant ads. Kayak for traveling ad takes you deep into marketplace to nab relevant app.
9:13AM Real case studies time. Adsense for mobile apps — ADFMA (his abbreviation, not ours).
9:13AM Useful tools that indsutry knows, uses, and loves are working seamlessly in mobile environment. “Must be open to innovation — I don’t know what ponies are doing here… but sometimes you gotta be open and go with it.”
9:12AM Advertising. Google has a decade of experience under its belt. “We have 100,000 of advertisers.” If you have an ad, we have a place to fill it. It’s called inventory. “We can be your advertising partner.”
9:10AM Back to the present — again. All local music now available via streaming.
9:10AM Technology from recently-acquired Simplify Media will be used to sync your local music to an Android devices. Matt turns on the Android device — “Thank you for calling Fifth Floor restaurant.” Guess our time traveling escapades through this briefing aren’t over yet!
9:09AM Album downloading. “Why don’t you send music to the device” — changes voice — “to the internet.”
9:08AM Good ol’ matt finds the app. Vic explains how you used to buy, download, transfer. “Guess what,” says vic as we inch forward in our seats with antici- oh you know. They used the internet! Over the air installation.
9:07AM “Because matt is signed in, we know every android device he has.” Yeah, you can guess, that’s a lot.
9:06AM Another preview of what’s to come in Marketplace. It’s a web based client!
9:06AM “We want the best…highest quality apps.” That means they need some quality control. Demos “Crash it,” which as you may guess, crashes. Can now send troubleshooting information — application error reports — with complete back end data. Developers are clapping, press are trying to comprehend all the code.
9:05AM Now allow automatic updating for specific apps. Just an apt check mark.
9:04AM An Update All icon for your apps… how long did it take, really? “We’re kind of embarrassed you’re clapping to that.” So are we Vic, so are we.
9:04AM Need for Speed, now on SD card, launched and working just fine. “Okay, let’s move on,” but Matt refuses, too busy racing. Oh don’t play coy, Matt, we see you over there.
9:03AM Searching financial records within Mint, having the “Move to SD card” option (under Manage Application). Manual is an option, but apparently Android does this automatically when need be.
9:02AM People want to find apps more easily, search inside apps, auto update, and move apps to SD card. Care to take another bet on what Froyo’s about to improve?
9:02AM Fifth pillar: Market. Data shows users are installing more than 40 apps.
9:01AM “Much nicer [to work with Adobe] than just saying no”
9:01AM “As it turns out, people use flash.” Really, now? More iPad vs. Android comparisons, Vic’s daughter trying to visit Nickelodeon. And in either screen, no more Rugrats.
9:00AM Not quite a babel fish level but… oh, without a word, Vic just pauses to let people cheer on Flash Player 10.1 public beta and AIR developer pre-release
8:59AM Back to voice again — no more time traveling, we hope — “Can you help me find the nearest hospital?” It immediately translates (and speaks) the phrase in French.
8:58AM New tricks based on intentions. “Call fifth floor restaurant” — we assume that’s location-based. And it looks like the camera is working, so let’s take a step back.
8:58AM Del Dotto Vineyards works, too — okay, that’s impressive. Mandarin Chinese and Japanese support coming.
8:57AM “Pictures of the Golden Gate bridge at sunset.” I bet hey couldn’t do Primus lyrics!
8:57AM “We recognize that mobile devices … would use voice more than anything.” Just as a reminder of how fantastic our capabilities have done [with voice] over the last two years. Demo! “Pictures of Barack Obama with french president of the G 8 summit.”
8:56AM Camera APIs now in the browser, too. It’s good for Buzz, says Vic, but… then we don’t get to see it.
8:55AM My location now works in browser. “What about accelerometer?” Maps the web app does it, right in the browser.
8:55AM Also working with standards bodies to make browsers more versatile. Here’s a preview coming.
8:54AM “We think we can claim froyo has the fastest mobile browser.”
8:53AM “I wonder if you’ll be able to get that into the app store… OH WAIT, it’s a web app.” He’s on a roll, folks!
8:53AM “There’s an industry standard test that really exercises javascript performance on all times.” Once all 26 tests complete, the Android icon takes a lap. Care to take bets how this will end?
8:52AM Same javascript interpreter in chrome now in Froyo. You’ll never guess what’s happening. Demo time. Froyo, Eclair, and… iPad.
8:52AM The number one thing people use is phone, second messaging, third browser. Honestly, we thought phone would be lower. Someone behind us mutters “porn”. Har har.
8:51AM Activated via settings. It’s just a matter of pressing “portable Wi-Fi hotpost.” A notification icon pics. “Now you go to a device that doesn’t have connectivity — how about that iPad.” More laughter. Oh vic, you tease.
8:50AM Hey look: Tethering and portable hotspot. This crowd couldn’t be happier. The carriers? Well, that’s another story.
8:50AM Ditto for websites.
8:49AM “Boom!” goes Gundotra — directions go straight to the phone.
8:49AM Email? No. Text? You’re crazy! Specialized Android send-to-phone option? Of course!
8:48AM Demo time! Crhome extension in up right corner sends data to his phone — Moscone center to Google HQ.
8:47AM Cloud-to-device Messaging API. Cue the multitasking joke and a few cheers.
8:47AM There’s an API so that data will now be transferred, too
8:47AM “If you’ve used android and have gone to another device, you know android will back up your device… however, what android has not done is backed up the data associated with those applications.” Vic cites his weight watching app. He apparently really, really wants to know his progress.
8:46AM 2. Device admin APIs
8:46AM Number two: enterprise. In froyo, over 20 new features. First of that: new exchange stuff: auto-discovery, security policies, GAL lookup.
8:45AM Two games shown, top one (froyo) never dropping below 30 FPS. Thanks JIT!
8:44AM Dalvik virtual machine. “We can carry the entire ecosystem into new areas.” Only works if machine is fast — and Dalvik apparently. “In Froyo, we’ve added a JIT, just-in-time compiler.” 2x to 5x application speedup.
8:43AM Five pillars to discuss. First up: speed.
8:43AM Announcing Android 2.2, codenamed Froyo. Yum!
8:42AM Momentum over! How abrupt. Now it’s time for platform discussion.
8:42AM 50,000 applications — not the biggest number by far, but hey, every little bit counts. 180,000 developers.
8:41AM 1 Billion miles navigated. “There are some who say people don’t use search.” Data shows a 5x growth in the past two years, across all smartphones. “People love google search.”
8:41AM Second in smartphone sales, first in total web and app usage in the US. Someone’s having a pastry party in Google over these numbers.
8:40AM Our run rate daily activations has now pass 100,000 a day. “Go Android”
8:39AM 21 OEMs, 48 countries, 59 carriers.
8:39AM Looks like today’s theme is momentum. Unless they abruptly stop with that idea. Over 60 compatible devices are shown — there’s the bleacher all turned around!
8:38AM Andy’s second point: A “draconian” future where one company, one device, controls the future. Hey, why is everyone cheering?
8:38AM Andy talked the merits of a free mobile OS. “The operator should be able to compete on the strength of their network, [not the platform]… in the end, it would be the consuemr who would benefit.”
8:37AM He speaks of his first day meeting Andy Rubin, completely dumbfounded by his drive to make another mobile operating system. Obviously, that Rubin had the right idea.
8:36AM “Hope you enjoyed the party last night!” We didn’t, we’re lame. Vic welcome everyone watching on YouTube. Why not, us too!
8:35AM Vic Gundotra takes the stage, now having earned the crown for best speaker since Erick Tseng left for a more social industry.
8:35AM The music cranks and then… silence. Looks like we’re a go!
8:34AM To the left of us on stage lies the back of a miniature bleachers, with overstretching the top what looks like the heads of a sea of smartphones. Think they’ll be talking about mobile today?
8:25AM Scrawling across the backdrop is a sea of robots of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Google: we’re all about android equality.
8:23AM We’re in, after a mad dash to the coveted 7th row (press seating). The music is bumpin’, our seats our thumpin’, and… now we wait some more.
08:10PT Ah, got to love those change of plans — we’re now re-waiting for the magic gates to open. Should be any moment now judging by this Viking we’re standing by and his glaring impatience.
Yesterday’s Google I/O keynote brought about a number of big newsbits — a Chrome web app store, the open WebM video format, and so forth — but even more tantalizing were Vic Gundotra’s not-so-subtle hints at some major announcements coming at today’s keynote. Will we finally get some details on Android’s latest updates on the food roadmap?
Few tidbits from the conference
All of the 5000 attendees got a free gift HTC EVO 4G !!!!!! a 600 dollar phone.
Vic Gundotra mimicked Steve Jobs with plenty of sarcasm.
Sony CEO boasted how his XPERIA 10 is outselling iPhone in Japan.
Google is the heaven for the Tech savvys these days!!
Yes Ram garu, however they have tendency of early innovation then dropping the whole thing. I hope they won’t do that . The key is getting Samsung,LG and other manufacturers on board.