Yes, Google TV is back. (You didn’t expect them to give up that easily, did you?) Version 2.0 popped up on a number of sets at CES, including models from LG and Vizio. (Samsung reportedly plans to build the feature into select TV models, but I didn’t encounter any during my dash through its CES complex.) Google TV 2.0 will also show up in Blu-ray players and standalone media receivers from Vizio and Sony.
Why should you care about GTV 2.0? Cloud-based gaming, for one: Vizio’s V.I.A. PlusTVs will include the OnLive streaming service, which lets you play games like Assasin’s Creed Revelations and Batman: Arkham City from its 200-title library using wireless or USB-connected controllers. The Google TV-specific remotes that I checked out from LG and Vizio also looked like huge improvements over previous designs, physical interaction being key to a satisfying Web/TV experience.
The CES is always the birth place of up and coming electronics, where future products get their first taste of public viewing. Many products get their debut at the show, but there are also many that die out because of lack of interest of development that just stopped. I can see the focus on TVs, 3DTVs and the like. Hopefully next year we can see more of those.
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The CES is always the birth place of up and coming electronics, where future products get their first taste of public viewing. Many products get their debut at the show, but there are also many that die out because of lack of interest of development that just stopped. I can see the focus on TVs, 3DTVs and the like. Hopefully next year we can see more of those.