Recently Google came out with a direct competitor to TiVO called “Google TV.” Google TV is revolutionary in that it solves a big problem facing today’s internet users.
The way traditional TV has worked was that a user would see what is on what channel, and at one time. The traditional TV forced a user to not only browse through tons of channels, but also set aside time to watch a specific program. While the time constraint issue was solved by TiVo, a user would still need to browse through tons of channels, not to mention the extra costs in signing up with TiVo.
As well, today’s internet user lives in a world where everything comes instantly. With YouTube, the internet user can simply type in a TV show name, maximize the screen, and watch the show with friends. The problem there is that the computer/laptop screen is only so big, and so it doesn’t match up in terms of quality with a large flat-screen TV.
So how does one combine the best of both worlds? Enter Google TV. Google TV allows one to search for a TV show, and then select it from certain search results, all on the TV. A user can also bookmark certain channels and shows to favorites, and with the power of the internet, search for things like pictures, and simply conduct internet browsing.
One can acquire Google TV two ways. One, purchase a special “Google TV” box that will connect to the TV, or two, purchase a TV that has Google TV built-in. Either way, it redefines the way TV has traditionally been watch. From an Internet Marketing perspective, it will be interesting to see what this means with regards to advertising with “Google Ads” on the TV screen.
