Back in August, Google released a Preview of Google TV Add-on for the Android SDK. Google has now announced a software upgrade for Google TV a software running on Android device (Smart TV / STB) such as the Sony NSX-24GT1 Google TV that bring web video (e.g. YouTube, Netflix and more) to the TV.
Google admits the initial version of Google TV wasn’t perfect and they even asked partners not to show product with Google TV at CES 2011. Let’s see what improvements Google TV 2.0:
1. Keep it simple
The interface is now much simpler. The new customizable home screen gets you to your favorite content quickly. And within “all apps” you can see all of your shortcuts, similar to your Android phone or tablet.
2. Make it easy to find something worth watching
Search has been improved across the board for content from Live TV, Netflix, YouTube, HBO GO, and more. There’s also an app called “TV & Movies” that let’s you easily browse through 80,000 movies and TV episodes across cable or satellite, Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, and many other sites. It will also give recommendation based on what you previously watched.
3. Make YouTube better on TV
Google launched a new YouTube experience specifically built for Google TV and they’ve integrated YouTube more closely with Google TV search, so that you can turn virtually any topic – mountain biking, cooking, etc. – into a channel.
4. Bring more apps to TV
Android developers can now bring existing mobile apps or entirely new ones to TV. Initially, the number of apps won’t be large as applications requiring a touch screen, GPS, or telephony won’t show up. However, 50 developers have already uploaded their TV apps to Android Marketplace and the number of apps should grow overtime.
This software update will be coming to Sony devices (e.g Sony NSX-24GT1 Google TV) starting early next week and Logitech devices (e.g. Logitech Revue STB) soon thereafter.
Watch Google Tv 2.0 Promo Video Below.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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It’s about time Google got a TV App launched for the Android. I hope this will work on the Asus Transformer 2 that is due to come out soon. Live TV on your phone and tablet is definitely the way forward and hopefully this will open up the market for more apps like this.