Developing Applications for Google TV

Google announced a new platform initiative in early 2010—Google TV. The vision: a highly interactive and connected television experience leveraging the Android platform. Google wasn’t going to do it alone, but partner with some of the top manufacturers in the television and set-top box business, including Sony (see Figure 10.2), Vizio, LG, Samsung, and others.

Figure 10.2. Google TV devices are often set-top boxes. This one, from Sony, was announced at CES 2012.

Just as smartphones put apps in your pocket, Google TV brings them to your living room. The sky’s the limit when it comes to the types of apps and content you might want to provide to Google TV users. Let’s talk for a moment about what types of applications are suitable for Google TV users.