Sony on Tuesday officially launched four HDTV's loaded with the Google TV interface, as well as a Google TV Blu-ray player.
The company's Google TV products will be called Sony Internet TV and will range in price from $399.99 for the Blu-ray player to $1,399.99 for the 46-inch HDTV.
Sony first announced plans to produce a Google TV-branded set at the search engine giant's May I/O developer conference. Sony said it would bring to market HDTVs loaded with Google TV, Google's Android operating system customized for HDTV screens. Google TV aims to provide a clean and easy way to browse the Web, watch TV, and run applications all on your HDTV.
Google TV uses the true Chrome Web browser with Flash 10.1 so most Web sites viewed on the Sony Internet TV's were accessible and looked just like they would on your home PC. There are currently only a handful of Google TV apps available (Netflix, Twitter, and Pandora to name a few) but Sony said the OS will be updated in early 2011 to include the Android Market app with more options.
The OS can also display TV from a cable box, and supports Google searches while watching TV, Web browsing, and TV displays in a PIP box on the corner of the screen. The HDTVs and Blu-ray player both capture digital video and audio from cable boxes via HDMI and control them via IR (unless it is a receiver from Dish Network, which can also be control via HDMI.)
The four HDTVs and Blu-ray player all include a remote control that features a thumb-sized QWERTY keyboard. Sony said the remote has design elements borrowed from a controller of a Sony PS3, like the trigger buttons on top and two directional pads on the front. It was very comfortable to use.
Last week Logitech launched a Google TV product that was nearly identical to Sony's Google TV Blu-ray player. The $299.99 Logitech Revue is a set-top box that plugs into HDTVs to display Google TV. It's just like the Sony Blu-ray player - without the actual Blu-ray player. Like all of the Sony products, the Logitech Revue is powered by an Intel chip and has built-in Wi-Fi.
All of the Sony Internet TV products are available for pre-order right now at sony.com. The Sony Internet TV Blu-ray Disc Player NSZ-GT1 will sell for $399.99 in October. The Sony Internet TV will be available in October in the following sizes and prices:
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