At CES 2013, Marvel is showing a number of new Google TV devices powered by its Marvell Armada 1500 Series which was introduced last year with Google TV 2.0. Among the notable new clients (called “design-wins” in industry lingo), we’ve spotted ASUS, Netgear, Hisense and TCL: they are not really small-time manufacturers, so we can expect Google TV to be promoted like it’s never been before.
We’ve covered the Neo TV Prime in another post, but in this particular line-up of Google TV boxes, we find the ASUS Qube design to be particularly interesting and would love to see it next to a TV. We’ve talked to Weili Dai, Co-Founder of Marvell, about CES 2013, and she told us that all the technology elements are now in place for Google TV (and smart screens in general) to take off, big time.
The final element that is missing is the content, which is arguably a big one (ask Apple… they’re still trying to get exactly that), but it is something that should eventually be solved by the market. Weili Dai also thinks that while this kind of technology has been relatively expensive in the past for a low-margin market like HDTVs, it is now entering a price range that would allow TV makers to integrate it directly in the television.
I also asked her if she thought that Android developers would build apps specifically for the television format, and she replied that she absolutely thought so. Finally, she pointed that beyond the technology, the ease of use (friendliness) and the content will be key in igniting the rise of smart screens.
Photo on the right: Weili Dai, Marvell’s co-founder.
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