Google could unveil its much-discussed, little verified Google TV, or at least the Android-based software the company is building at Google I/O in May, sources told Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal (paywall warning).
As I wrote in March, Google TV — we don’t have an official name for the software/service — is a platform and service that will run Web applications through set-top boxes and onto televisions.
The set-top box is allegedly fueled by Android and Intel’s chips, and will make Sony televisions and even Blu-ray DVD players function like computers, running Google’s search, Chrome Web browser, YouTube and other programs.
Expect Google to foster third-party apps on Google TV, or whatever it will be called, much the same way developers write apps for Android smartphones. Imagine the fragmentation for Google TV apps!
Bloomberg claimed April 28 that Intel is contributing a special Atom chip that will run a new version of Google’s Android operating system called Dragonpoint.
The Journal said Google could delay discussing the software until the technology matures, though that certainly didn’t stop Google from launching Google Wave at the same developer event last year.
A couple things about this idea are compelling. First, it represents another leg on the Android stool.
Second, Google is trying to succeed where Apple TV and other services bombed. Imagine if Google TV succeeds in the wake of Apple TV.
That will open up a whole new front in the mobile Web war between Google and Apple. Keep an eye out — I’ll be watching this development closely.