Google TV

Summary: Google’s vision for next-gen TV isn’t so crazy if it can leverage Motorola Mobility with a different approach

     Google has never been the one to provide original content - from video and news to music and images. Google has always been about indexing that content, making it readily available to the masses and then incorporating advertising to turn it into a gold mine.

        Sure, Google TV as we know it today is non-starter. The idea of bringing a keyboard and a browser to the living room is a deal-breaker - and Google should have known it, given the repeated failures of others who tried to bring the PC to the TV in earlier years. 

         But who’s to say what Google TV might look like five years from now. The power of Google TV is the technology, not the actual device - and certainly not the content. And with Google now in the set-top business - thanks to that acquisition of Motorola Mobility - it’s not hard to imagine that Google TV technology could make its way into homes everywhere. It’s also not hard to imagine the cable guys - who want to be more than just the dump pipe of the Internet - getting on-board with a premium service that delivers videos from Hulu, YouTube or Netflix - to the customer.

        Remember when TiVo was the enemy because it allowed viewers to fast-forward past commercials? It wasn’t until the DVR technology started showing up in the set-top boxes that the TiVo-like concept went mainstream. Today, every cable and satellite company offers a DVR.

          In many ways, TiVo and Google face similar challenges: Viewers don’t understand the concept and Hollywood is scared of it. But if Google can educate viewers by offering them what they do understand - YouTube and Netflix, for example - as an introduction to Google TV, they might stand a chance on that front. Convincing Hollywood is a bigger challenge but maybe the answer is to partner with the cable and satellite guys on the hardware side and let them deal with Hollywood negotiations, something that they’re old hands at.

Computers That You Can Wear

Experts predict that wearable computing will be the next big thing, but some exciting devices are already here.

It’s an exciting time for the wearable-computing industry. Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen declared in a recent interview that wearable computers were the next big thing for Silicon Valley, and the past few months have seen a flurry of new product announcements in the arena.

A device that records everything you see for later playback, a bracelet that comfortably and discreetly monitors your health, Dick Tracy’s watch phone--these devices aren’t just coming soon, they’re here.

WIMM's prototype Android watchFor instance, WIMM Labs announced just this week a new line of Android-powered devices small enough to fit on your wrist but powerful enough to help you keep track of your calendar, the weather, and more. As our own Ed Oswald was quick to point out, however, we’ve had the technology for these kinds of devices for years. Microsoft’s similar SPOT watch launched way back in 2003.

Wearable computing has already become part of our lives. What else is on the way? Travis Bogard, vice president of product management and strategy for Jawbone, says that the next few years should see wearable computing expand to new areas as consumers become more comfortable with the idea.

Jawbone is best known for its line of Bluetooth headsets, but recently it announced Up, a bracelet that will launch by the end of the year. The discreet device will keep tabs on what you eat and how you sleep, and it will monitor your movement to help you see how much exercise you get. You’ll be able to stay on top of all that information via a phone app that lets you check your data throughout the day.