Google TV 2.0 with Android Market, what you should know?

Overview

Google TV 2.0 set-top-box software, perhaps Android 3.1 Honeycomb, is to include Android Market apps. The feature will allow users to surf through the content rich Android Market and download compatible apps onto your Google TV 2.0 set-top-box. Many tech blogs have surfaced a sneak peak into the potential Google TV 2.0 update with Android Market apps. With the much-coveted update, you can handle your Google TV as you do with an Android Honeycomb tablet. Indeed, apps such as Fox Business, Adult Swim and CNBC Real-Time will be available for you on Google TV.

Google TV 2.0

Pricing and availability

Google has not revealed the pricing details of Google TV 2.0 set-top-box. The first Google TV set-top-box was Logitech Revue, which was priced at $299, but unfortunately, it was a huge failure. Google has not also cleared when the new Google TV set-top-box with the new Android version and Android Market will arrive in stores.

What’s great

Plenty of apps: With the Android Market integration, users can download plenty of compatible apps onto their Google TVs. As the feature gains momentum, developers will roll out more apps appropriate for Apple TV. As a result, watching content on Google TV will become an exalted experience for you. With the Android Market integration, you can surely download lots of apps such as Fox Business, Adult Swim and CNBC Real-Time for various purposes. Of course, in future we will have more dedicated apps for Google TV.

Rich media experience: Different from the first generation Google TV, the new version will have a rich media experience thanks to Android Market integration. We will have more apps and programs that we can run on Google TV and enjoy more media contents on the platform.

Better streaming: As per analysts, the new set-top-box will realize better content streaming options on Google TV.

What’s not so great

With the new Google TV set-top-box update, all bugs of the first generation set-top-box should have fixed. Logitech Revue was widely rejected by customers because of its lack of contents, Dolby audio issues and many others. Hopefully, Google TV 2.0 with Android Market would be more feature-rich and perfect.

Moreover, as per reports, the Android version on the new set-top-box would be the tablet-only Android 3.1 Honeycomb. Meanwhile, Google has just unveiled the latest version of the software Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS). There are many people who want Google to run ICS on the upcoming Google TV 2.0 version. Maybe Google will be delaying the arrival of Google TV 2.0 in order to make it ready for the new Android version.

Things to watch out for

Google TV has not yet gained large attention in global markets. Officially released in October 2010, Google TV has been criticized by many reviewers as an incomplete mishmash of great ideas. Of course, as Engadget’s Nilay Patel noted Google TV was an idea “half-realized.” Google is now evidently working hard to make Google TV a great platform for entertainment and TV watching via Internet. On its way, along with updating the software to either Honeycomb or Ice Cream Sandwich, Google will tie up with a more dependable hardware maker other than the previous service providers. Logitech Revue, the first set-top-box was certainly a big collapse due its incompetence in features.

Verdict

With a fresh Android version and Android Market apps, Google TV 2.0 will be a more advanced one. The company, in fact, has to compete with the leading players like Apple TV in market. Google, of course, has the capability to make its web-TV into a massive success. The company has a nice operating system in Android and a rich app store in Android Market. And so, future customers of Google TV can certainly hope for a wonderful product with more rich contents in future.

Nevertheless, Google has not yet revealed when the updated version of Google TV set-top-box will come to stores. Some sources have recently pointed out that it would possibly happen in November. However, the Mountain View is yet to make a confirmation.