Much like the recently launched Logitech Revue, also powered with Google TV, Sony differentiates itself by proudly being the first Google TV provider to offer the system built directly into a TV, and with it a handheld remote control. Sony is also offering a Sony Internet TV Blu-ray Disc Player that will connect to any standard HDTV to give you a Google TV experience.
Google TV is a concept driven by a single idea: watch live TV while experiencing the Internet. If you’re watching a live TV show, you can search for online content directly on your TV from the comfort of your couch. What makes Google TV so futuristic is the fact that unlike a normal cable TV that searches only live content, Google TV will search recorded content, internet content, YouTube, and applications to create a powerful entertainment experience that combines internet and TV.
Yes, it is an incredibly innovative and useful idea, and companies like Logitech and Sony intend to capitalize on it fully.
Sony’s Google TV inspired project, titled Sony Internet TV Powered by Google TV (it is a mouthful), centers around a sleek and beautiful TV. It’s clean, shiny, and has a white and black panel on the back and a black lining that almost sparkles. The TV itself displays in full 1080p HD with an Edge LED backlight. The Sony Internet TVs range in sizes from 24 to 46 inches, and are priced from $599 to $1399.
In the box, you will also receive a remote control, which was described by Mike Abary, Senior Vice President of Sony’s Home Division as “beautifully designed” with “elements borrowed from the PS3 remote.”
Mr. Abary is pushing it a little with the “beautifully designed” comment — the TV remote will inevitably be an acquired taste for most potential buyers. It has a vintage 1980s design and feel, yet can pull off a modern description if you care more about its features than its looks.
The remote control features a full QWERTY keyboard and optical mouse functions that allow you to control the TV’s volume, DVR or Blu-ray player, and basically all of the TV’s functions. At about half the size of Logitech’s included keyboard, it’s definitely less bulky and fits more naturally in the living room than its competition (at the moment).
So at this point, your choices for Google TV and all its wonderful capabilities are limited to Logitech’s Revue and Sony’s Internet TV.
For more on Google TV, check out Logitech Launches Google TV in Your Living Room and Google TV Devices to Launch Later this Month including Remote Controller Keyboard
via pocketlint
