Sony's Bravia TVs in Japan have widgets. Whatza widget? You know, those handy little applications that range from an onscreen clock, news headlines, updated weather — you know, widgets! Of course, they have to use Bravia's Internet Link to access up-to-date information.
Sony has just released a software development kit for public use to create these widgets. Developers can check them on a Bravia, and Sony has promised that the time to validate an application will be pretty quick. Yes, Sony must approve apps before they're released.
Wanna try your hand at developing a widget?
ony has a contest running for the best application (ending January 8th, 2009). The prizes include a Bravia LCD TV and VAIO to second place, a Blu-ray player to third, and more.
Currently, the SDK and the widgets themselves are only available in Japan, but there's no reason to think they won't go global sometime soon. —Leslie Shapiro
