Is Google TV about to get a new hardware partner at last? That"s what Bloomberg is reporting today. Its new report, based on unnamed sources, claims that LG plans to introduce a new television at the Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas in early January 2012. The new TVs may have Google"s television-based software built inside the box.
If true that could be a big boost for Google"s efforts to offer up software that blends watching TV and surfing the Internet. The software debuted in 2010 on Logitech"s Revue set-top boxes and on a line of Sony"s Bravia televisions. So far the results have not impressed reviewers. Indeed, as we learned earlier today, Google TV has also not impressed Logitech, who announced this week it was discontinuing production of the Revue box after poor sales.
So far there"s no word if Sony will continue to support its Google TV Bravia televisions. The TVs were the first to receive the big Google TV 2.0 update which was released a few days ago. The update redesigned the Google TV interface and offered more downloadable apps, including games and other programs.
The same Bloomberg story hints that Samsung might join the Google TV bandwagon at some point. While that may or may not happen, at the moment it looks like Google"s efforts into TV software integration have yet to offer any major successful results.