Hasta La Gadget!

Google on Monday unveiled a new website preview of its Google TV service and announced content partnerships with HBO, CNBC, Turner Broadcasting and the NBA.

Each of these network partners will build custom applications with premium content optimized for the forthcoming Google TV, an internet-based television platform that Google first announced in May. The company still has not said when Google TV will be available to the general public.

Most of the TV applications announced today are either news-oriented or offer specialized interfaces for content. NBA Game Time follows basketball news and highlights; HBO Go will be a special on-demand portal for HBO subscribers that appears to be separate from whatever on-demand offerings are available through one’s cable provider; CNBC Real-Time augments the news channel with personalized stock tracking and news; and Turner will provide a big-screen, new-interface version of its website content from TBS, TNT, CNN, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim.

Other Google TV applications include Netflix, Amazon Video On Demand, The New York Times (which appears to be mostly video- rather than news-driven), VEVO’s music video service, Pandora, Twitter, and of course, Google’s Chrome web browser (with Flash 10.1 support) and an HDTV-optimized version of YouTube called Leanback. Additional and forthcoming applications will be available through Google’s Android Market beginning early next year.

Google TV’s overhauled website offers a tour and feature list, including TV search, use of an Android smartphone or iPhone as a remote control, and the ability to “Fling” websites, video and audio from your handset to the television. It also spotlights its hardware partners, Sony’s Internet TV and the Logitech Revue set-top box, with an option for notification when more products become available.

Here Comes Google TV [The Official Google Blog]

See Also:

• Google Introduces Google TV, New Android OS
• Logitech Google TV Box Embarrasses Apple TV
• Google TV Revealed: One Screen to Rule Them All
• Google TV: Google, Sony, Intel Team-Up to Make Television
• Boxee CEO: Google TV Could Boost or Crush Us
• Networks Proving A Tough Sell for Google TV (Surprise …
• Google TV Likely to Launch at Best Buy on October 17

Considering the level of hype that has surrounded Google TV, freakishly little is actually known about how it’ll work. Of course, a lot of that is expected to be cleared up on Wednesday when Logitech unveils its Google TV lineup, but the Big G itself is giving us all a sneak peek beforehand. The company has just launched a new ‘quick tour’ portal that showcases the most prominent Google TV features, including Search, Web, Apps, Remote (complete with an Eastbound & Down plug), Personal, Dual View and DVR. Frankly, we’re pretty jazzed by the look of the user interface, and we can hardly wait to see what kind of punches Logitech and Sony throw in the coming weeks. Hit that source link to draw your own conclusion.

Update: Google has elaborated some on its plans, and it’s all shaping up quite nicely. We’re told that Turner Broadcasting has been working to optimize the websites of TBS, TNT, CNN, Cartoon Network and more for viewing on Google TV, and NBC Universal has collaborated with Google TV to bring CNBC Real-Time, an application that allows you to track your favorite stocks and access news feeds while enjoying the best financial news from CNBC directly on the TV screen. HBO GO will also be supported and the NBA has built NBA Game Time, an application that lets you follow game scores in real-time and catch up on the latest highlights from your favorite team in HD. Need more? Amazon Video on Demand will be present, and it sounds like Goog has hordes of other companies just moments away from offering compatible content portals. Hop on past the break for a quick video overview of the Apps segment.

Update 2: Whoa, Netflix just confirmed that ‘Watch Instantly’ will be fully supported on Google TV devices launching later this month. Huzzah!

Continue reading Google TV quick tour shows off the service’s inner workings, Kenny Powers’ dreams (update: Netflix support!)

Google TV quick tour shows off the service’s inner workings, Kenny Powers’ dreams (update: Netflix support!) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 12:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It makes me sad—emo-kid sad. Why do so many self-proclaimed geeks hold so much disdain for so-called hipsters? More »

Microsoft is scheduled to announce its first line of Windows Phone 7 products in a New York press conference next week.

Reporters this morning received an invitation to an Oct. 11 event, where Microsoft will announce which carriers and manufacturers will be making and selling handsets based on Microsoft’s next mobile operating system. The company will also preview the first line of Windows Phone 7 hardware.

It’s evident that AT&T is on board as one of the carriers. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega will be jointly hosting the conference to discuss the latest developments of Windows Phone 7, according to the press invite.

Despite Engadget’s report that T-Mobile will be a highlight of the Microsoft press conference, a Microsoft spokeswoman said T-Mobile is holding a separate press conference on Oct. 11 that is not part of the Microsoft conference. She declined to comment on whether T-Mobile would be among initial carrier partners offering Windows Phone 7.

Windows Phone 7 is Microsoft’s complete do-over of its mobile operating system previously dubbed Windows Mobile. Microsoft established an early lead on mobility with its older mobile operating system, but in recent years the company has suffered substantial losses in market share. Windows Mobile hasn’t been upgraded substantially in several years, and more user-friendly competitors such as Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android OS have taken market share away from Microsoft. As a result, Microsoft scrapped the Windows Mobile project and redid the entire OS into a tile-based interface incorporating elements of the Zune media player and Xbox Live gaming.

Microsoft is also tackling its competitors on the patent front. On Friday, the Redmond company sued Motorola over alleged patent infringement in its Android phones, covering features such as “synchronizing e-mail, calendars and contacts, scheduling meetings, and notifying applications of changes in signal strength and battery power.” And in an interview in the Wall Street Journal Monday, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says that Android sales will generate licensing fees for Microsoft.

Though the company will announce details about Windows Phone 7 at the Oct. 11 conference, multiple reports have claimed that the official shipping date of the first Windows Phone 7 devices is Nov. 8. Wired.com has heard the same date from sources familiar with the project.

See Also:

• Microsoft Blends Zune Media, Xbox Live Into New Phone OS
• Hands-On With Windows Phone 7 Series
• Microsoft Tells Windows Phone 7’s App Story
• Microsoft’s Mobile Strategy Takes Aim at Apple, Google

Runners love to tell you about their post-workout highs, but they rarely mention the mid-workout delirium that comes when muscles deprive your brain of blood, leading to doubts about how long you’ve been running, what your target heart rate should be, and indeed how to get home again. Garmin’s updated Forerunner 410 (above) can help you out with all those things, and the larger touch bezel means oxygen-deprived cardio hounds can easily scroll through data describing things like pace and heart rate, even when it’s raining — or you’re sweating excessively. Once back home and showered this $325 watch automatically syncs to a USB dongle via ANT+, uploading data to Garmin Connect, just like its predecessor the 405. Then there’s the $300 210, pictured below, a follow-up to this spring’s 110 and providing a more simple display of real-time distance and heart rate without a bunch of other confusing data. Both models will be on display at the upcoming Chicago and New York City marathons before pacing themselves into stores this fall.

Update: The 410 can indeed help you find your way back home thanks to a simple navigation mode that will direct you from one waypoint to the next. Great for finding new routes — or new tactical insertions.

Continue reading Garmin updates GPS watch line with Forerunner 210 and 410, data-craving runners rejoice

Garmin updates GPS watch line with Forerunner 210 and 410, data-craving runners rejoice originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 11:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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