The Verge: Google Is Working on a TV Box Of Its Own

Amazon may have a slight lead in the world of Android-based TV-centric mini-boxes with its Amazon Fire TV, but according to this story, Google is getting set to release just such a box itself. "According to documents obtained exclusively by The Verge, Google is about to launch a renewed assault on your television set called Android TV. Major video app providers are building for the platform right now. Android TV may sound like a semantic difference — after all, Google TV was based on Android — but it’s something very different. Android TV is no longer a crazy attempt to turn your TV into a bigger, more powerful smartphone. "Android TV is an entertainment interface, not a computing platform," writes Google. "It’s all about finding and enjoying content with the least amount of friction." It will be "cinematic, fun, fluid, and fast." ... What does that all mean? It means that Android TV will look and feel a lot more like the rest of the set top boxes on the market, including Apple TV, Amazon’s Fire TV, and Roku."

I'll wait and see

[chromaexcursion]

This is a space littered with failures.
Including Google TV.
They seem to have Netflix on-board, a start.
But they also seem to be missing HBO, and the other movie channels. Not a deal breaker for some, but it is for me.

If you can actually two screen with an android phone as the control and second screen that's interesting.

Re:I'll wait and see

[wiredlogic]

What more do you want from set top box that actually hides behind the TV?

An Ethernet port.

Re:Fuck Google...

[wile_e8]

And this is why you should buy a dumb TV and just use it as a display for smart devices. Whatever is added on to the TV is usually obsolete or dead long before the TV and can't be replaced, but a box or stick can. This has been the way to do it since they started coming out with TV/VCRs, and it's even more true more that input devices are advancing so much more rapidly.