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Google leaks Nexus Q video and images ahead of I/O keynote
Speaking of Google-related leaks, we've got another one for you. After a bit of digging, we were able to hunt down some images of the rumored Nexus Q, and it now seems inevitable that we'll be getting some up close and personal time with this particular device after today's keynote session. According to some documents found by Droid-Life, the Nexus Q will have some interaction with YouTube, Google Play Movies, Play Music and TV, and will require the use of a phone or tablet running Gingerbread or higher. Update: it looks like the official product page on the Google Play Store has been updated. So here's the details: the Nexus Q lets you stream music and movies from Google Play and YouTube to your home entertainment system. It offers a 25W amp, enabling you to power it to a set of speakers, or you can hook it up to an AV receiver or HDTV. According to the product page, the Nexus Q will be available for $300. So far it appears to be a US-only product, so we'll have to wait and see if more is revealed at the I/O keynote session. Check out the video after the break!
Sirius XM details GoogleTV app ahead of the I/O party
The fine folks at Sirius XM just couldn't wait for Google I/O to kick off. Yesterday the satellite radio giant tipped off Reuters (not that it was the only one "spilling the beans," mind you), and today it's offering up even more information on its upcoming Google TV offering. The app, still slated for a broad 2012 release, will be available as a free download for US subscribers via the Google Play store. The list of features includes Start Now, which lets users listen to programming from up to five hours prior, pausing / fast forwarding / rewinding and Tune Start, which brings up the beginning of an already played song. Also on-board is the Show Finder, a program guide that lets subscribers set show alerts. The company will be demoing the product later this evening at I/O. In the meantime, check out the press release after the break.
Sirius XM gives Google TV a Stern look, plans radio app for this summer
Sirius XM has long had a love affair with Android, going so far as to build an Android-powered satellite radio just a few months ago. That flame is burning for at least a little while longer with plans for a Google TV app launching this summer. Much in line with Sirius XM's more recent internet options, subscribers can soon tune into virtually anything from the satellite radio lineup, including the obligatory Howard Stern, as well as online-only bonuses like ESPN SportsCenter. The radio provider tells Reuters that it worked "closely" with Google to build the app, but what secret sauce that adds (if any) is left to the imagination: the live pausing and five-hour content storage don't exactly break the mold of what we've seen so far. We'll find out very soon just how category-busting Sirius XM can get when we get a full reveal of the Google TV app in sync with the start of Google I/O.
Sony NSZ-GS7 Google TV review
More Info Sony's second try at Google TV brings Blu-ray player, streaming box and a new remote Google TV goes international, Sony NSZ-GS7 set-top box up for preorder in the US and UK Google TV officially switching to ARM, Marvell Armada 1500 CPU to lead the charge If at first you don't succeed, try, try again and that's exactly what Google has done with Google TV. With the second generation of Google's software hitting older hardware and some TVs, it only makes sense that Sony would revise its hardware and fill the void left when Logitech decided to leave the party. The $199 NSZ-GS7 from Sony might be the perfect little box for those hoping to internet-enable their TV without actually replacing the TV itself. How well it does at that is exactly what you'll find if you click through.
Vizio's Google TV box emerges as the Co-Star Stream Player, goes up for pre-order in July with OnLive gaming
Remember the Vizio VAP430 Stream Player that we tried during CES? Half a year later, the Google TV hub is getting full launch details, just in time for Google I/O. Along with receiving the much more elegant title of Co-Star Stream Player, the set-top box now bakes in OnLive streaming game support -- the Co-Star could, in theory, replace a game console for any American with a good broadband connection. Whether or not playing Just Cause 2 on a TV is in the cards, the hub ticks all the 2012 Google TV checkboxes, including a hybrid keyboard and remote, 3D-capable 1080p video and DLNA media sharing. Before you rush to the local big-box store to pick one up, be warned that pre-orders don't start until July, and then only on Vizio's website. The $100 price, however, will make it considerably easier to wait.
Google TV goes international, Sony NSZ-GS7 set-top box up for preorder in the US and UK
Sony mentioned during CES 2012 that its Google TV-powered hardware would come to Europe this summer, and now it's official. Along with Google, it's announced preorders are available for the $200/£200/$199 NSZ-GS7 internet streaming set-top box in the US and UK (showing a ship date of July 9th, Sony says it should hit stores July 22nd), with plans to launch in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico and Netherlands later this year. The NSZ-GP9 with integrated Blu-ray player will arrive in October, priced at £280/€300/$299. UK users can expect localized content from The Guardian among other sources, and more reveals are promised at Google I/O this week. There's an internationally-aimed trailer (embedded after the break) and more information from Sony and Google at their respective sites, we'll see if the mix of reworked hardware and updated software makes this venture more successful than the last round. Update: It looks like buyers in other countries may not have to wait long, Sony Australia has already announced a "limited time" pack-in offer of the boxes with the purchase of a new TV starting this week. The box will be available solo at some unspecified time in the future.
Sony's Google TV-enabled NSZ-GS7 Network Media Player up for pre-order at J&R
We knew Sony's next batch of Google TV-enabled hardware was coming this summer, and now at least one device is up for pre-order at J&R. Folks who've been wanting the Android-based service without shelling out for a full TV set from the company will now only need to part with $200 for its NSZ-GS7 Network Media Player. The unit comes complete with an updated remote featuring a QWERTY keyboard, motion control, a microphone (for "voice commands") and a touchpad, and it's said to work with most of Sony's 2012 TV lineup. There still seems to be no word on this streaming box's exact specs, a ship date or when you'll be able to snag its Blu-ray touting sibling, but you can hit the source link to secure one for yourself in the meantime. Here's to watching whether it'll muster up more gusto for the platform than Logitech's Revue, once it's planted consumers' AV racks.
Rumor: Microsoft considered OnLive acquisition, thinks the next PlayStation will be a GoogleTV box
Details continue to spew forth from the supposed leaked 52-page "Xbox 720" presentation that came to light a few hours ago. Buried deep within the bowels of the slideshow's fifth seventh slide, an examination of the next Xbox's potential competition potentially reveals some interesting tidbits about Microsoft's thinking back in 2010 (the slideshow dates back to August 2010).Most notably, the document not only lists OnLive's MicroConsole as competition (along with the AppleTV and GoogleTV platforms, among others), but it also notes OnLive itself as a "potential acquisition target" – which makes sense considering frequent mentions of cloud gaming in the rest of the document.The presentation also makes several assumptions about the Wii U (dubbed "Wii2" in the piece, showing its age) and Sony's eventual next console, specifically claiming that the Wii U will cost around $249, and that the "PS4" will be some kind of GoogleTV device, on top of being a Sony console.
Google TV team focuses on third party content, second screen apps as I/O approaches
The slow-starting Google TV project has gotten a lot of attention at the last two Google I/O conferences, so what do the folks at Mountain View have up their sleeves this time around? Judging by recent updates to the Google Developers support pages, a major focus will be on helping third party devs create apps full of content, as well as control and information apps for mobiles or tablets. Recently the Anymote Android library for remote apps and related documentation was published, which the developer of the popular Able Remote app confirmed could assist devs in expanding upon Google's existing app, while subsequent additions to the FAQ library address HTML5 and more. On deck for Google I/O sessions are Bring Your App To The Big Screen, Get Your Content On Google TV and Command and Control in Your Living Room: Building Second Screen App for Google TV. Recently, apps like the one for Al Jazeera have been updated to bring more video to Google's platform, so with the rumored SDK (and HDTV) from Apple still missing in action, we'll wait and see if the third time's the charm for Google TV.
OnLive Multiview on an LG Google TV, eyes-on (video)
Between the giant screen gaming demos, the shiny new hardware and the ever-present booth babes, the Electronic Entertainment Expo may well be the short attention span capital of North America at the moment. How does one possible manage to up the ante on electronic attention deficit disorder? Nintendo and Microsoft have both made pretty admirable strives in that direction with the Wii U GamePad and SmartGlass, respectively, bringing a second screen to home game play. OnLive is helping move things along as well, by way of the MultiView feature, which brings several screens worth of content to a single display -- in other words, you have other games taking up screen real estate while you're playing a game. OnLive's Spectate feature is nothing new, of course, letting you keep tabs on friends and scores of other players. MultiView, however, lets you watch that content while playing, the majority of the screen devoted to your own game, with this added footage in a sidebar. You can access the feature with the click of a button and chat with friends or coordinate with teammates. OnLive showed us the feature on an LG G2 Google TV -- the perfect opportunity for the company to highlight the new partnership. The 55-inch display also served as an ideal demo -- while the feature will also be available for mobile devices, you're really going to want a big screen, lest the whole thing become a little too cacophonous.
Google TV update touts Google Play and YouTube movie rentals, distinct lack of popcorn
If you own one of Sony's Google TV devices, it's now considerably easier to curl up with a flick or two. Google has just pushed out a 2.1.1 update that allows watching movies rented through Google Play as well as in the browser, with YouTube. The update rollout should grace both Internet TVs and Internet Blu-ray Disc Player owners within the next two days. Logitech Revue viewers aren't quite so well off: Google is only asking them to "stay tuned," which to us is a sign we shouldn't give up Netflix just yet.
OnLive's E3 blowout includes new games, easy in-browser access, MultiView and LG's Google TV
OnLive launched in the summer of 2010 streaming games to PCs or Macs, and now two years later it has returned to E3 feeling pretty good about the state of cloud gaming and its place in it. Among a series of announcements going out are news that it will be demonstrating gaming on smart TVs for the first time on LG's G2 Google TVs with support for up to four universal OnLive controllers at once. The Google TV viewer app has been out, although OnLive gaming has been closely tied to Vizio's upcoming Google TV models in the past while LG showed off Gaikai access at CES. It's not available on retail units yet, but is expected to be added in a software update, with an eye towards adding support for Cinema 3D gaming later on. At the same time it's rolling out an update to its in-browser gaming clients that lets publishers and retailers launch players into games without creating a login. Finally, we've got the new OnLive MultiView feature that lets players see the video stream of another player without exiting their own session. As suggested in the press release (all are included after the break), it can let you check in on a friend's game as it happens, or even see from a teammate's perspective during a co-op match. That feature is currently in closed beta and is set to launch later this year, read on for all the details about what OnLive is up to and a list of games coming soon that includes Darksiders II, Civilization V: Gods and Kings and more.
Sony-made Google TV units will come with Plex as standard
Plex has inadvertently announced that its excellent media center software will be baked into Sony's forthcoming range of Google TV devices. A customized version of its app for the platform arrived on Google Play, declaring that it was only available for download on "late model 2012 Sony internet TVs." When pressed on the matter, Plex revealed that it'll arrive pre-installed on the second generation gear, expected to arrive in Europe by September.
LG's Google TV-enabled sets coming to US end of May
LG revealed two Google-loaded TVs at CES, but never gave us prices or told us when these LED models might dangle their skinny bezels in stores. In briefings at Google last week, we heard that the 47-incher (47G2) and 55-incher (55G2) would sell for $1699 and $2299 respectively -- although Amazon already has them listed significantly cheaper than that. Now, to complete the jigsaw, Reuters has quoted LG exec Ro Seogho as saying that these Google TVs will ship in the US from May 21st. In the meantime, check out our hands-on from Las Vegas, because that new QWERTY-equipped Magic Motion remote is especially enticing.
Google TV YouTube app updated for better recommendations, search and sharing
It only makes sense that the Google TV initiative to increase personalization would extend to videos served up from its YouTube site, and now the official app has been updated to do just that. The new version brings recommendations meant to pull gems you might like out of the ever growing pile of content available, as well as a way to search between the new YouTube channels on your TV. Also users should notice improved video quality since the app will automatically try to play content at the best available resolution from the start, and if they find something interesting, it now supports +1 sharing to Google+. The new app is already live on Google Play, compatible devices should be pointed that way for the new experience.
Google TV's TV and Movies app gets to know you better with ratings, favorites and more
At the center of the revamped Google TV experience that rolled out last fall is its TV & Movies app, which is a blended guide of content currently airing live on TV and available for streaming from the popular internet services (Netflix, Amazon, HBO Go). As Product Manager Rishi Chandra mentioned when we caught up with him at CES, personalization is something Google will be focusing on going forward and that's shown in the updated app being pushed out today. When it's first opened, users will login and be asked to rate a few movies and shows so it can get a sense of their tastes to know what to present, Netflix-style. There's more information displayed up front too, with expanded descriptions, and details below each show so viewers can find out about the episode that's on more easily. For a few more details on what's new and refreshed, check after the break.
PSA: Watch Coachella on YouTube, Google devices for free this weekend
Sure, Google's previous Coachella stream ran about as smoothly as Woodstock 1999's final hours, but that's no reason to abandon the idea. Mountain View has decided to give it another go, streaming 2012's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Youtube and to properly equipped devices. Looking to get your rock on? Hit the source link below.
Paramount flicks are coming to YouTube and Google Play despite Viacom lawsuit
While its corporate parent Viacom continues to tussle with Google over who is liable for user uploaded content, Paramount Pictures has struck a deal to offer its movies for rental on YouTube / Google Play in the US and Canada. According to Google that adds up to around 500 new movies becoming available on the service over the next few weeks including hits like Ferris Bueller and The Godfather. Those catalog titles are currently available on 48hr joypasses for $3.99/$2.99 (HD/SD) each, while newer titles like Hugo are $4.99/$3.99. Also worth noting is that now the folks at Mountain View can count five of the six major studios (Fox is still out) among their offerings. We'll see if this signals a thawing relationship between Google and the studios upset that pirated copies of their content are so easily found via Google's searches (doubt it), but at least Android users can look forward to more easily accessible content.
Report: Google TV coming to Europe in September
Sony is making some more definitive statements on its plans to bring Google TV across to Europe. According to financial paper, Les Échos, Sony France's marketing director said that two devices, a set-top box, priced at €200 ($266) and a Blu-ray player, selling for €300 ($399), will launch in France this September. The paper reports that it could launch across the UK, Spain and Germany at the same time. Sony's Stephane Labrousse added that remotes for the new devices would also include a dedicated Android Market Google Play button to access the Android progenitor's apps and media content. The Japanese manufacturer's own Music Unlimited service will also be baked inside. Phew. There's no word just yet on whether these are the older Intel-based models or the new, possibly cheaper, ARM range set to ship later this year. However, we expect to hear plenty more noise from Sony on its Smart TV intentions over the next few months.
Roku players now have an official Plex channel with upgraded UI and new features
If you're a fan of Plex's media server software and Roku's do-everything hockey puck media streamers then today is your lucky day, as bringing the two together is now easier than ever. While Plex has supported streaming to Roku devices through an unofficial channel since last year, today it announced it's officially available in the Channel Store. That's not the only thing that has changed either, since a blog post indicates the new official channel brings a new upgraded UI and features like myPlex support, audio and picture support, and Direct Play of video without transcoding on compatible videos. Hit the Plex blog for a few more screenshots and details, or just turn on your Roku and add the app directly. Also, if a Google TV device is your preferred Plex client, that app has also just been updated with a few new bugfixes.
