Sonys Google TV Final Countdown – The History, The Hype, The Hope


Sony is having the counter click down to unveil their new product, the Sony Bravia with Google integration. For those unfamiliar with the matter, Sony and Google have partnered to create a new kind of TV. One that not only is your everyday TV, but one that has access to the web and apps; giving you Twitter, Facebook and other forms of integration and usage, all while you’re in middle of your show.

While other companies have tried setup boxes that connect to your television and give you access to web forms of content, they have always required that you hookup an additional box to your television to gain those additional functionality. This many times lead to clunky designs and less then stellar performance and ease of use. Those that were easier to use didn’t really work with your Cable or Satellite provider, this again meant that when you wanted to access those additional features, you would have to leave your program, access your web and email, then jump back into your show. This process nor provided an a rich web experience or a good media experience.

Sony and Google hope to change this. With the new Bravia television from Sony, Google will have their system built right into the TV. That first takes out the need for this to work with any particular provider as it’s built right into the TV. This means, no matter if you have Satellite or Cable, this service will work for you. This also takes the clunkyness out of the picture for no additional boxes, cables and inputs will need to be used up to give you these new functionalities. Also, the software that Google is offering, can live around your media and will not try to force itself upon you. An example would be, if you are watching Hawaii Five-0 and you want to bring up IMDB, with a click of a button, a new menu surrounds your content, you can jump on the web while your show is still playing or paused and access the information you want. The key is that they are both happening simultaneously in one interface. Now, take the concept further. While your show is airing, in the corner, you can see a little notification that you have a new Tweet, Facebook message or email. Those are the types of things you can expect from launch. Plus, the experience is meant to be more personal and specifics to TVs and not replace having your computer hooked up to the television, while watching a movie in middle of it.

If we look a little into the future, it’s not hard to imagine a deeper integration. While you are watching a show, having access to additional information and behind the scenes content and interactivity. For advertisers, this too can be a gold mine. While playing a commercial for a BMW, users with a click can be directed to their website, see further specs and information. The possibilities are really endless, but the key is that they wrap around your media, not make you chose between one or another.

Currently what we know about the new Sony Bravia TV is the sizes and models. Dubbed the NSX-24GT1, NSX-32GT1, NSX-40GT1, and NSX-46GT1 — which are the sizes, 24-, 32-, 40-, and 46-inch, there is no price point yet, but we fill find that out shortly. A few sites a few days prior ran with some pricing for the new units, have sense retracted that information and have concluded that their sources were off. But again, the mystery will all be unraveled in less then 5 hours so stay tuned as we offer more coverage on this as it happens.