Google TV with Logitech Revue Box Boasts Netflix, YouTube Leanback Apps

by Clint Boulton

Tapping the home tab on the controller shows users their Google TV menu, which includes applications, bookmarks, spotlight, queue and other content options. Note the dual-view mode in the lower right-hand corners, allowing users to continue watching TV while TV or Web surfing on the Revue.

Revue users can manage Google TV content, adding and removing favorite apps, Websites and channels.

Google TV Search is tuned to combine TV channel content that tells users about program schedules and general Web content. Check out this Twitter search, accessed from the quick search bar, which users will access from the magnifying glass button the Revue controller.

This is how you post from Twitter on Google TV.

Here, we posted to Facebook from Google TV. A tap of the back button returns users to previous TV programming or apps.

Do you just want to check out only what’s on TV? There’s a “What’s On” button on the Home menu.

Configuring the Revue controller to access the TV allows users to click one TV button to access their channel guides, with Google TV running in the background.

Google TV is navigated by the Chrome 5.0 Web browser. So this screen miniaturization should look familiar for Chrome users.

Most Web applications currently aren’t tailored for Chrome and Google TV, but Google highlights the apps that are customized for Google TV in this special section.

The YouTube Leanback app lets users sit back and watch YouTube videos one right after another. Users can simply type on the screen to search and pause, rewind or fast forward videos.

The Netflix application is a dumb media player, but it gives users access to their instant queue on the service.

Like a particular application or TV channel? Bookmark it just as you would in Google Chrome.

Not a Netflix fan? Maybe you use Amazon video-on-demand? Google TV has an application for that on the Revue.

Google TV offers a great application called Queue that lets users choose podcasts to view and subscribe to Web RSS feeds.

A long-time subscriber to The New York Times, eWEEK was pleasantly surprised to see that this selection showed up in our Google Reader RSS feed.