Google TV to Target Apple TV?

[FanIn80]

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/...s-web-web.html

Interesting stuff. If anything, it should see Apple move the ATV out of the "hobby" realm and into a more serious product.

[The Ditch]

I don't mind it. Competition is certainly a good thing. The fact that you need a keyboard a mouse and a special remote would be a bit of a drag for me.

I don't know how much I would use internet portion of it, though how they show you using it is neat and makes sense. I haven't clicked your link, I watched some video and read some stuff at Gizmodo but I'm still confused about exactly how it works. Do I plug the google TV into my cable box or do I pay for cable account through the GoogleTV, and if so is anyone in Canada even going to offer me this service.

It will be interesting to see how it works out, I love my AppleTV and if I could get live sports on it I wouldn't be paying for cable.


Looking more into this it actually looks like something I would definitely use but I have a funny feeling that Canadians will be shut out for this thing for a while, running tv shows from Hulu or purchasing Amazon.com. Renting movies from Netflix, using Dish network to get your tv.

[Burninator]

I also hope this competition spurs Apple to put more effort into the Apple TV. I've had my Apple TV for about a month now and I think it's great, I use it all the time. The whole set top box market is almost completely untapped. It's going to be a huge market, but no one has got it right with their products and content. With that said the Apple TV is the best out there at the moment IMO.

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by The Ditch

I don't know how much I would use internet portion of it, though how they show you using it is neat and makes sense. I haven't clicked your link, I watched some video and read some stuff at Gizmodo but I'm still confused about exactly how it works. Do I plug the google TV into my cable box or do I pay for cable account through the GoogleTV, and if so is anyone in Canada even going to offer me this service.

From Wired:

The Google TV software will be available on TVs, Blu-ray players and set-top boxes through Best Buy in fall this year. It will be independent of the cable service providers. All devices running the Google TV software will have Wi-Fi and ethernet connectivity, a keyboard and a “pointing device” or a mouse.

Read More http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/...#ixzz0oUvJzLec

Also from the article:

“If Google didn’t act, we face a draconian future. One man, one company, one device would control our future,” Gundotra told attendees at the conference, making a clear swipe at Apple — without mentioning Apple by name. “If you believe in openness and choice, welcome to Android.”

[Flames0910]

you know, i love google, but the "you better buy my product or else you support terrorists/communism/steve jobs" crap makes me puke.

solve my problem better than the other guy and i'll buy your product.

[Barnes]

Psshhh...

Welcome to 1994 Google.

[Barnes]

C'mon Google fanbois, take the bait.

[Russic]

Looks very cool and I hope it lights a fire under Apple's ass to strengthen the Apple TV, but by virtue of being in Canada the Google TV will be more of a decent competitor to the Apple TV up here, whereas in the states it's a much stronger device. iTunes is still the only way to get legitimate streaming content, so when it comes to searching for streaming media I have to imagine it'll be useless north of the border.

That being said it sounds like it will pull media from iTunes or any computer in your house, so it's definitely stronger than the Apple TV. Hell, at this point the iPad can play more complex media files than the Apple TV.

[FanIn80]

Hey, maybe Apple can just buy Google and then build their search technology into a future version of AppleTV that supports live television and has a searchable TV guide...

[QuadCityImages]

...and then maybe Microsoft will buy Apple for their one button mouse patents...

[sclitheroe]

And like most things Google recently, I expect there to be six or seven variants, all running different versions of Android, non-existent customer support from Google, a shifting feature set, and outages that are expected to be tolerated because its all still "beta".

I seriously wonder why people put up with some of the crap that they do from Google. They are getting worse as they expand, not better by any stretch.

[QuadCityImages]

Maybe because absolutely zero of those things have negatively affected me?

[Azure]

Same here. I use a variety of Google products and have never had a problem with service or anything mentioned above.

[QuadCityImages]

In all fairness, I'm not denying that the Nexus One customer service failed miserably at launch. The entire concept of a phone that had to be purchased without ever handling one was a stupid idea. I'm very much the target audience for that sort of thing, and even I wouldn't consider buying a phone that way. They have now recognized that and moved on. The idea that the fragmentation of Android really impacts people is almost entirely an Apple fan-created myth.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by QuadCityImages

The idea that the fragmentation of Android really impacts people is almost entirely an Apple fan-created myth.

Googling android fragmentation leads to over 2 million hits. A lot of people are thinking and talking about it, and trying to determine what effect it will have on the platform.

And it most certainly does impact people - we have already seen ample evidence that carriers and phone manufacturers are not as aggressive as one would hope at updating the OS for devices already purchased, leading to people using unofficial ROMs and whatnot.

It also paves the way for handsets with wildly different feature sets, tablets, etc, which could actually be a good thing.

[Azure]

Important thing is Google has moved on too.

[MickMcGeough]

Looks very promising - watch the video:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/20/l...phone-apps-we/

[HeartsOfFire]

Neat video, but when I lean back and view it with a practical mindset, all I'm seeing is bells and whistles.

[llama64]

Originally Posted by Barnes

C'mon Google fanbois, take the bait.

Google has fanboys(ois)? :P

Whatever the product Google comes out with I'm sure it will be neutered all to hell in Canada.

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by llama64

Google has fanboys(ois)? :P

Apparently not.