Google will be the latest company trying to convince users that they want to surf the web from their living room — it’s working with Intel and Sony on a new platform called Google TV, according to a report in The New York Times.
This follows Google’s previous attempt to get into television advertising — an effort that doesn’t seem to have paid off. That effort’s initial leader, Tim Armstrong, left to run AOL. Since Google’s colossal success in web advertising didn’t transfer to the old-media world of television, it makes sense to bring web advertising to the TV instead.
Google TV will reportedly be based on the Android operating system that was launched on mobile phones, but which the company has said it wants to bring to other devices. Google TV users should be able to flip through web applications as easily as they can change channels. It will compete with products from Boxee, Netflix, and others.
Like Android, the system will reportedly be open source, but Sony is working to bring out the first devices, including set-top boxes and maybe TVs, while Logitech is working on peripheral accessories like a keyboard-equipped remote control. For now, Google has built a prototype set-top box.
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As it always does on product rumor stories like this, Google declined to comment on the report.
