Though we knew it was only a matter of time, the first Android-based IPTV solution has hit the streets, aiming to marry up the flexibility of Android app integration with connected TVs.
NetUP has launched a client for IPTV Middleware, NetUP.tv for Android, which includes a graphical user interface that includes in-stream pause and rewind options, TV on Demand, an Electronic Program Guide (EPG) and all the Android features, like Web browsing, social networking, gaming and thousands of applications such as YouTube, Skype, Google Maps and others. The application can be launched on any Android-based IP set-top box.
Moves like this may bolster the market for connected TVs. Connected TV users are staying pretty close to the fold, according to a new report from Strategy Analytics, with mainstream entertainment services like Netflix, YouTube, Hulu Plus, Pandora and iPlayer making up the lion's share of the apps used, despite a wide availability of other widgets. The culprit lies in navigational issues; a better way to discover and find apps that fit a consumer’s needs via the television (as with the Android middleware client cited here) could turn the trend around.
“Surprisingly, most owners of connected TVs do not seem to have been particularly interested in apps when they bought the TV originally," said Caroline Park, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics. “While apps users tend to gravitate quickly towards apps they are already familiar with from using a PC, tablet, games console or smartphone, they see little reason to explore or investigate what other apps are available, and if they do, they are usually disappointed at the experience."
Another problem is making a remote control that can take full advantage of the ecosystem, with an intuitive user interface and search functions. It is for this reason that Strategy Analytics says a smartphone-based app will be the key for controlling connected TVs.
That’s good news for NetUP: The research agency IDC forecasted that in 2015, 40 percent to 50 percent of embedded devices will be running Android.
