Google TV has failed to take off as expected when it launched in 2010. Issues such as poor customization options, laggy apps and disappointed customers have led Google to discontinue the product. It’s developer tools and libraries will also no longer be supported and unavailable.
Google TV had been successful to an extent in gaining developer support. It incorporated Chrome and Android features in a 10-foot interface and a QWERTY remote which allowed users to use games, apps and play online video content.
“While the Google TV libraries will no longer be available, we’ve made it really easy to transition apps to Android TV using familiar Android development tools, as well as our new Leanback support libraries,” said Google and Android TV teams.
Android TV was announced only last year, showcased on the Nexus Player set-top box by Google. This week at CES 2015, Sony announced that all of its Bravia TVs will be featuring Android TV. More companies will be partnering with Google to bring Android TV devices. Google has already identified Sony, Sharp and Philips among them.
“We expect to see an exciting lineup of Android TV devices in the coming year, including TVs from Sony, Sharp, and Philips, as well as other set-top and over-the-top boxes,” added the teams.
Favourable reports have been coming in from CES 2015 in Las Vegas that the Android TV hardware has been featured on several TV manufacturers. Sony, Sharp and TP Vision have expressed support for Android TV. Support for the platform has also been confirmed by chip makers including Qualcomm, Nvidia, MediaTek, Intel, Broadcom and ARM.
Bugs may still appear sporadically on the Android TV, but there is little doubt that it is still far superior to the discontinued Google TV. It’s better hardware features make that possible alongside its simplicity and newer software to make Internet TV streaming advance even further.
Other manufacturers like Huawei and Razer have also expressed willingness to support the product.
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