New York — Sony and Logitech have been leading the Google TV charge up to this point, but from now onwards, the search engine behemoth has added another manufacturer from Irvine, California-based Vizio Inc. to its roster. The official Google TV Blog offers more details: “We are kicking off the year with a new partner, Vizio, a leading TV maker in the U.S.”
To make things official, Google Inc.’s Rishi Chandra, Google TV Product Manager, announced on the Official Google TV Blog that Vizio is now an official Google TV partner. Google indicates that Vizio would consolidate the technology in its new line of HDTVs as well as a Blu-ray players with Google TV, which will debut later this year.
Unfortunately, no time-frame was specified. “Vizio is making a new line of TVs and a Blu-ray player and combining Google TV that will hit shelves later this year,” the company blog stated.
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Vizio’s Via Plus platform with Google TV will play nice with Android tablets and phones. (Credit: Vizio)
As a matter of fact, industry experts have been anticipating other companies to jump on board even after news that manufacturers had been pulling out of CES, so this is good news for those of us who own or are thinking of owning a Google TV box. The company is marketing the Google TV feature as part of its Via Plus platform, an improved version of the Vizio Interactive Apps suite found on current models like our 2010 Editors’ Choice XVT3SV series and the new XVT3D650SV.
The word from Chandra:
“We just returned from the holidays and geared up to get crackin’ on 2011. Last-year, we unfurled the first version of Google TV with our partners, Sony and Logitech, and this year, we will continue to improve the product even better for you.” As we communicated last month, we are constantly iterating on Google TV, adding new features and content, improving the user experience, and fixing bugs. We are in the early stages, and the future is bright.
Today I’m thrilled to share that we are kicking off the year with a new partner, Vizio, a leading TV maker in the United States. Vizio is making a new line of TVs and a Blu-ray player incorporating Google TV that will hit shelves later this year.
Also in 2011, we intend to bring developers tools for building applications specifically for the TV and living room, and we also plan to bring Android Market to Google TV, so consumers can download thousands of applications to their TVs. Check back in with us periodically to see the latest from our team and partners.
Nevertheless, Vizio’s announcement endorsed the availability of Via Plus on TVs and Blu-ray players, in addition to its newly announced smartphones and tablets. According to the company, the platform “combines the convenience of entertainment on demand with seamless experience from the big screen to hand-held devices.”
Specific capabilities described in the release include being able to begin watching a show on one device and continue on another without interruption, as well as improved potentiality to search, organize and access apps. Vizio promises a demonstration of the platform at the upcoming CES show in Las Vegas.
The TVs will feature a “superior” Bluetooth QWERTY all-inclusive remote with touch pad, dual-band 802.11n built-in Wi-Fi and onscreen navigation including search and Web browser.
While the Vizio stuff portrayed is fun in general, but current owners really just care about the application part that was mentioned. Let us take this bad boy to the next level and get some Market action on here.