SAN FRANCISCO - Google Inc unveiled “Google TV” on Thursday in an effort to bring Web-connected television into living rooms and its reach into the $70 billion TV advertising market.
Intel Corp and Sony Corp are widely reported to have formed a three-way deal with Google to develop a platform for Internet-connected televisions, extending Google and Intel’s reach beyond personal computers and into broadcasting. For its part, Sony, whose dominance in consumer electronics has been eroded by the likes of Samsung, is now ahead of rivals in developing a new generation of devices.
The widely expected multi-pronged effort marks the latest attempt to bring the Internet into living rooms, a vision that has challenged virtually every major player in the technology and consumer electronics industry for years, from Apple Inc to Microsoft Corp.
Google also said on Thursday that more than 100,000 smartphones running on its Android mobile operating system are now activated daily and its library of applications has grown to 50,000 from less than 40,000 in the first quarter, underscoring the rapid adoption of the devices.
The Internet search and advertising leader added that searches on its mobile Internet search engine have quintupled in the past two years.
At its annual developer’s conference, executives outlined how the Android — an operating system introduced last year in competition with Apple’s and Palm Inc — is gaining traction in the intensely competitive market.