SXSWORLD

Will Google TV Point the Way to an Open Source Viewing Future? by Jason Levitt W earlier. Once again, Google was entering a crowded market- place with no brand recognition (how many people own a Google set-top box or DVR?) and no products, but with some powerful partners (Intel and Sony, among others) and with the intention of providing open source software and developer tools to anyone who was interested. Back in November of 2007, when Google launched the hen Google announced Google TV in May 2010, it was simply a replay of the company's Android smartphone software launch two-and-a-half years Android operating software for smartphones, it entered a field dominated by mature smartphone software from big name players like Microsoft, Palm, Nokia, RIM, and even the fledg- ling iPhone. Fast forward three years, and Android is now the #2 most widely used smartphone operating system in the U.S., with 26% of U.S. subscribers (according to the January 2011 Comscore report) and running neck-and-neck with Apple at 25% and RIM at 33.5%. This is an impressive statistic considering that RIM launched its first modern smartphone (the model 857) in 2000, and Apple started selling the iPhone in June 2007. Since the first Android- running headset (the HTC Dream) did not ship until October 2008, in reality, Google gained this market share in only two years. In the television marketplace, Google seems well-positioned with its Google TV software. Again, Google is partnering with hardware providers (Sony, Samsung, Toshiba, LG, Sharp, Logitech and others) so that it can focus on software. And again, arch-rival Apple is already actively selling the second generation Apple TV box and has a precipitous lead. But with no need to design or create hardware, Google can focus on developing software that anyone can use. Just as with Android, the key to Google's long-term success will be what it gives away, not what it sells. Google TV 1.0 shipped in October 2010 on a few devices, including the Sony Internet TV and the Logitech Revue, but there is no open source project yet, no developer SDK for creating Google TV applica- tions, and it is still too early to say whether Google can lure developers, manufacturers and customers. The early reviews on Google TV 1.0 have been generally poor— see David Pogue's thrashing in The New York Times or Engadget.com's half-hearted take for examples—but with Google still some months from offering the Google TV software as an open source project, the jury is still out. Meanwhile, there is considerable competition even from open source Google at the SXSW 2010 Trade Show Content has been one of the most con- tentious areas for on-demand video. Only recently have video content providers been able to offer a substantial amount of high-quality video on demand. projects like XBMC (xbmc.org), which powers the front-ends of several existing products, including Boxee and Voddler. Various other devices and software also provide some, or all, of the same features as Google TV: DVRs (Tivo and their ilk), software inter- faces like Windows Media Center, game consoles like PS3 and Xbox and, most recently, small dedicated Internet TV boxes like Apple TV, Boxee and Roku. These small boxes have a general quality that sets them apart from earlier technology in that they are simple and inexpensive and have huge selections of content available on demand. Content has been one of the most contentious areas for on-demand video. Only recently have video content providers been able to offer a substantial amount of high-quality video on demand. This has enabled 32 SXSW ORLD / F EBRUAR Y 2011 boxes like Apple's 2nd generation Apple TV to have no local hard disk, with all videos streamed via a very simple, configurable interface. Overall, a combination of more bandwidth on the consumer side, coupled with better streaming technology, has made the latest batch of Internet TV boxes quite appealing. The boxes essentially act as simple front-ends to multiple data sources such as Amazon and Netflix for streaming movies, Flickr for photos and Pandora for music. Google, of course, owns YouTube and its enormous video repository, and Google TV has a customized interface to navigate and play YouTube movies. Since the introduction of the Web TV appliance in 1996, computer manufacturers have been trying to bring the online experience into con- sumers' living rooms. The problem has not been simply technology; products such as Microsoft's Windows XP Media Center Edition and Apple's first generation Apple TV device have been available for years but have been largely unsuccessful. Simplicity, an inexpensive price point and content are the holy trinity of the consumer living room, and these previous devices simply did not deliver all three. If and when Google TV goes open source, the real competition for domination of consumer living rooms will begin. n Check out television related panels and sessions at SXSW Interactive, including "GoogleTV to iPad Apps: The Connected TV Experience What We Really Want In Web", "Personalized Interfaces and the Arrival of Smart TV" and "It's Not TV, It's Social TV." See sxsw.com/interactive for more details. RAN AN

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