If you were expecting to see various television makers unveil their offerings for Google TV at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next month, prepare to be disappointed. Google TV has received lukewarm reviews since its introduction in October and has asked TV makers such as LG, Sharp, and Toshiba to delay their introductions. “Fine-tuning the software” is the unofficial word and would make sense as Google tries to navigate through the challenging arena of consumer electronics. With the exception of Android for smartphones, they haven’t displayed a lot of success so far. Gina Weakley,…

Sony would have you wait until October 12th to get in on the details of its upcoming Google TVs. Sony would have you attend their event in New York to get in on this hotness. But this is Techi, and we will not stand to have you wait that long. What is that, another week? Five days. Another work week. That is outright ludicrous. Tell you what – why don’t we make you privvy to some of the leaked details right now, from the comfort of your own living room/bedroom/basement/phone? Yeah? Good plan? Good plan. Apparently, I missed the memo that TVs are getting small again – 24, 32, 40 and 46-inches will all be dropping….

It is, I admit, sometimes hard not to feel sorry for Sony. The electronics giant, who own some of the most recognizable brands in the industry, is, to put it mildly, no longer the industry leader it once was. To be sure, they have gotten themselves out the rut they have been in for years. They’re embracing widely used formats like ePub or DivX; the PS3 is finally appealing; and their launch of Google TV is a sign of a company looking to change. But for at least a decade now, Sony has been hamstrung by a series of mistakes that have cost it its leadership position. Whether their disastrous early attempts at…

Google TV finally has a site to help those still confused about what the hell it is to get their learn on. If I wasn’t excited about Google TV before (I wasn’t), I’m incrementally more now. First of all, the branding and visual identity is slick as a leak at a dish soap factory. Typically, Google sucks completely beyond belief at all things designy, but I’ve gotta say, I’m impressed – they’ve really gone all-out to make Google TV do the opposite of be crap. Y’know, in the brand department, anyway. To be honest, the experience overall looks pretty ballin’, as well. Network channels get a sexy launch portal,…

Though recently it has been the smartphone market that has garnered the most attention in the tech world, the arrival of a revamped – if slightly disappointing – Apple TV is a reminder that the living room is the next big play for digital transformation. Think about it: unlike so many other sectors of society, the living room is one in which traditional approaches to media still largely dominate. DVD sales still dwarf streaming and online video in both numbers and revenue, while the web has yet to make any serious inroads onto people’s TVs. So there is a massive market ready for the taking – if only someone…

Now this is more like it. Assuming you exist, you’re by now doubtlessly familiar with Google’s imminent push into the frontier of your living room. But while we’ve all been made intimate with the idea of Google TV, I for one could go for a taste of the user experience, couldn’t you? Lucky us; Google has obliged by throwing us denizens of the net a reasonably meaty preview of what beef is. ‘Beef’ will hereupon be referred to as ‘Google TV’. Make sure you beatbox a wicked drum n’ bass beat while you click the hell out of this play button, because the internet is just more fun that way. “Watch videos on the web,…

Now this is interesting. Hey, remember Apple TV? No, I don’t blame you. Man, Apple TV sucked so hard. Apparently, though, that won’t be the case forever – sources of Engadget have whispered some sweet nothings about the next iteration of Apple’s crappiest product (presently), and it’s sounding pretty erotic from where I’m sitting. Like, I’m thinking of inviting this thing back to my place for some drinks. The main point is that for all intents and purposes, Apple TV II will be a screenless iPhone 4, with identical hardware, save for 1080p capability. It’ll even be running the iPhone OS. For a TV experience,…

Part of the greatness of the traditional PVR is that you can skip through crap you don’t want to see; credits, Survivor, ads, etc. This feature is arguably the single reason to own a PVR. So what of Google TV? Apparently, no dice, said Rishi Chandra, product manager of The Goog-TV and all around swell guy. Ads will be completely unskippable. Um, what? You mean I have to sit and watch ads so Google can earn revenue to continue to provide this service for me? Oh, fates cruel! Woe! Chandra’s telling us not to sweat, though; since Google will be collecting user data, the ads will apparently be targeted enough…

With all the ballyhoo Google’s brought over Google TV in the last 36 hours, it would seem that people are about to get excited over television again. With that, I guess it’s only fitting I show you some totally cool TV tech. What you’re watching is a demo of SkÃ¥l. SkÃ¥l (pronounced ‘skÃ¥l’) is an interaction design for television that relies on RFID to tie physical objects to digital media on your computer or, in the case of Google TV, your TV. Just slap an RFID chip onto a small object, link it to the chosen media, and place it in the bowl to instantly experience the content. Sexy. Frankly, a system like…

With the goal of complete and total domination in mind, internet Goliath Google has set its sights on nearly every form of interactive media imaginable. What started as a research project by Sergey Brin and Larry Page in ’96 later became the most widely used search engine in the world, and went on to expand into countless online markets. Let’s face it: Google does, well, everything. From e-mail to social networking, Google will stop at nothing to control each industry that they enter. Funded almost entirely by advertisers, the farther their reach, the more cash in the bank. Google, however, is…