Google TV

Couch Potatoes and Technology nerds around the world rejoiced this week, whilst health campaigners winced at the thought of a new generation of children growing up thinking exercise is something only done on QVC abs toning demos.

As news of Google’s launch into the TV market with an Internet enabled TV, filtered through to TV and Online planners, a decade long media civil war looks like it might draw to a ceasefire; “working together” might actually be the new buzz words rather than “smoke and mirrors media” or “pensioner programming”.

Google’s new venture with Sony and electronics firms Logitech and Intel is clearly an attempt to merge the growing online market with the 49 billion pounds of TV advertising revenue currently the province of TV networks.

The new platform means that online display advertisements will be able to reach users in the comfort of their armchairs, reaching a more traditionally social audience than the solitary internet user. The new technology will also have the power to, for the first time; serve user specific advertising much like the online sister of the TV i.e. by Age, Location and time of day.

The new TV, which allows users to switch between watching films and surfing the net, has been labelled “the biggest improvement to television since colour” a phrase used as much in the TV market as “best thing since sliced bread” was used since bakers started getting smart.

Whilst sliced bread is now the norm, the TV technology market is ever evolving. In recent years, other previous “biggest improvements since colour” have been digital, HD and 3D. With the merger of TV and Internet from the same comfy sofa the future of combined media is looking positive.

We don’t want you to get ahead of yourselves and start thinking you can order your weekly shop or update your gardening blog from your sofa however (unless you're already doing that from your laptop). Realistically Google TV will only allow customers to access Facebook and watch films on YouTube initially.
In the past competitors have had limited success trying to merge the internet and TV, but Google may have cracked it, creating 'companion boxes' and remote controllers that allow users to switch between the two at the flick of a switch. A special wireless keyboard will also be provided in order to keep the comfy man firmly in his chair.

The TV is expected to go on sale in the “home of convenience” (i.e. America) this autumn before arriving in Britain next year. As yet the price has not yet been set; however, expect this not to come cheap.