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Google remains committed to TV business, expects more partners soon
Wondering what Mountain View has in store for Google TV -- that half-baked content platform available on only a small handful of devices? Well, it's not going away, apparently, and may even cross the Atlantic into Europe next year. Google Chairman Eric Schmidt is currently making waves in Scotland, giving Edinburgh International Television Festival attendees a rather vague overview of what the next generation of Google TV may look like. Schmidt said that the service has yet to take off because it's currently integrated with (a rather limited selection of) TVs, which we don't tend to upgrade more than once or twice a decade. He added that additional hardware and content partners will be coming soon, though, and didn't deny that Google TV could end up on Motorola cable boxes -- an obvious move, given the company's recent acquisition announcement. With widespread implementation and many more content partners, Google TV could definitely be a hit, but with ABC, NBC and CBS still unwilling to come onboard, the struggling service likely has a very rocky road ahead before it can be deemed a success.
Google TV coming to the UK within six months
Hey! Britain! Guess what? You're getting Google TV! Try to temper your excitement, we know this is a big day for you, but there's still a bit of a wait ahead. According to the Telegraph and the Daily Mail, Google is aiming to deliver its set-top software to the UK sometime in the next six months. Eric Schmidt is expected to announce the plans at the Edinburgh Television Festival (which starts today), likely including integration of BBC's iPlayer and ITV's Player. Sadly we don't have any more details yet regarding a specific launch date or hardware, but we wouldn't be shocked if it's timed to coincide with the release of the Honeycomb version of Google TV.
