Attempting to mash up the Web and TV like chocolate and peanut butter, Google unveiled its long-anticipated Google Inc. (GOOG) TV service at its I/O developers’ conference in San Francisco.
In a demo reportedly plagued by Wi-Fi glitches, Google senior product manager Rishi Chandra said that "Video should be consumed on the biggest, best, and brightest screen in your house, and that's the TV," and that Google TV will combine the interactivity of the Web and the rich programming of TV in new and powerful ways.
Built into television sets from Sony Corp. (SNE), or activated via set-top boxes from Logitech, Google TV will be based on the Android mobile OS, running an integrated version of the Chrome Web browser. The system will be available in Best Buy stores this fall. It will also use a Flash 10.1 plug-in – a detail that must aggravate Apple (AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs, who has been on something of an anti-Flash jihad the last several weeks.
Google TV will “help people experience the best of TV and the best of the Web in one seamless experience,” according to the official Google blog. “Imagine turning on the TV and getting all the channels and shows you normally watch and all of the Web sites you browse all day — including your favorite video, music and photo sites.”
Though it’s unlikely to be primed for mass adoption at this point, Google TV could be a potent challenge for Web-TV hybrids being rolled out by cable operators and telcos, such as the Web-based Xfinity service, from Comcast Corp. (CMCSA). Available to customers who subscribe to both Comcast’s broadband Internet service and its cable TV service, the on-demand Xfinity service was rolled out late last year.
Google also said at I/O that it is creating an applications store for its Chrome browser, which will be open to apps from third-party developers, beginning later this year.
