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9.9.2010 Google plans to take TV service global

Google, the search giant, will roll out its new TV service globally next year, in another sign of the growing integration between online and broadcast content. Speaking at a recent conference in Berlin, Eric Schmidt, the company's chief executive, discussed plans to launch Google TV in the US in 2010, followed by an international introduction in 2011. "Once you have Google Television, you're going to be very busy," he said. "It's going to ruin your evening."
This flat screen appliance offers a search bar at the top of the screen, enabling consumers to simultaneously scour listings, the web and video-on-demand sites like Amazon, Netflix and Hulu. Google has entered negotiations with a number of studios about forming partnerships, and does not intend to charge participating networks for streaming material. Sony, Intel and Logitech have assisted Google on this project in the US, and Samsung has declared an interest in making sets utilising its software, which is available at no cost.
Future initiatives include adding an applications interface to Google TV, and "thousands" of these gadgets developed for the Android mobile operating system already function on this platform. Extra tools encompass the ability to switch stations using a voice-recognition facility and employing smartphones as a remote control, although a special device with a keyboard is in the design stage. Currently, Google is not seeking to directly generate revenues from its television activity, instead relying on paid search.

B.L. 9.9.2010