Google and Intel are planning to announce a new Smart TV platform later this week, according to reports. The two tech giants will announce a deal with Sony to bring web services to televisions during Google s annual developer conference in San Francisco.
The revolution we re about to go through is the biggest single change in television since it went color, said Intel CEO Paul Otellini last week.
The web capabilities and content are big on the minds of television service providers and manufacturers. Intel and Google hope that with the combination of their Atom microprocessor and Android OS that they’ll be able to penetrate this fledgling industry, which is currently heavily fragmented.
If you had asked me a year ago, I would have said no way Intel and Google could make an impression, said Kurt Scherf, principal analyst at research firm Parks Associates. But Intel looks to have gained some traction and the operating system space is so wide open that it s a case of why not Google at this point.
Google is looking to leverage its Android developer community to create apps for TVs. The manufacturers of TVs might warm to the idea more if they get a slice of the advertising revenues. Consumer electronics manufacturers want a piece of this [advertising] pie and Google is the player in this very crowded space that can immediately offer them revenue share, said Scherf.
Source: Financial Times
