LAS VEGAS — Manufacturers of televisions have been searching for something — anything! — to reverse a years-long slide in profits.
This week, several manufacturers plan to unveil their effort at the huge International Consumer Electronics Show here. It’s called Google TV.
If that sounds familiar, it’s because Google has been trying to crack the television market for some time, with rather tepid results. Google’s first foray into television, a partnership with Sony and Logitech in the fall of 2010, didn’t catch on because the remote was so big and complicated and because its software was confusing. And so far, Google’s success has been limited by the availability of on-demand television from the major networks.
Several announcements are expected at the show. LG Electronics says the latest iteration of Google TV has merged Google’s Android operating system with LG’s 3-D and Smart TV technologies, offering consumers “a new and enthralling TV experience.”
Whether consumers will be enthralled remains to be seen, but Google and television manufacturers are wagering that it will be a hit. Besides LG, Sony, Samsung and Vizio will introduce Google TV-powered products.
The idea of Google TV, and more broadly of Internet-connected televisions, is that viewers would be able to watch television in much the same way they browse the Internet, allowing them to watch movies, television shows, concerts and sporting events whenever they wanted.
In the case of Google TV, viewers would use Google’s Android operating system and apps specifically developed for the television. Google says it is a simpler interface than the first version of Google TV and offers more “TV-like” viewing of YouTube
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