Google announced Android TV at Google I/O today, the company's latest attempt to grab a foothold in the living room.

Unlike the Chromecast, Android TV will feature a full onscreen interface and search capabilities, and is designed to be built into TVs and set top boxes. Navigation is handled using a combination of smartphone control and voice search, with the Android TV interface overlaying over content that's currently playing.

Android TV runs on the latest version of the Android operating system and developers should be able to write one single app that will work on mobile and living room devices. Apps will be arranged on the user interface according to usage and Android TV has a neat feature allowing it recommend specific content from the home screen -- letting you to jump right to the next episode of the show you've been binge-watching, for example. There's traditional "casting" functionality available as well, letting you load content and push it your TV just as you would on the Chromecast.

Gaming will also be supported and Google showed off a controller-based "NBA Jam" game during the demo. However, no specific hardware details -- controller or otherwise -- have been announced yet, although Google named a handful of hardware partners including Sharp, Sony, LG, and Asus. Razer also made its own Android TV announcement, in the form of a micro-console dedicated to gaming.

Google says Android TV devices will be available in the fall, but no prices have been announced yet. In addition to Android TV, Google also announced a host of updates for Chromecast, including Google Plus photo integration and smartphone mirroring capabilities.

This is a breaking story and will be updated shortly. Follow along now on CNET's Google I/O live blog.

Originally posted here:
Android TV is Google's latest living room platform

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June 26, 2014 at 9:50 am by Mr HomeBuilder
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