Google to come to TVs (again), here’s hoping it’s better this time

The last time Google tried to get consumers to see its take on how a TV operating system should work, it was a hit and miss affair, but in 2014, the search engine giant will be giving the concept another thwack.

Time can certainly change things.

Back in 2010 and when Android was in its infancy, Google came together with Intel, Logitech, and Sony to work on an operating system for TVs, a concept that would attempt to do for Google what Apple did for the TV world with its Apple TV product.

The result was a series of products running “Google TV,” a not quite Android that gave TV owners access to a web browser, as well as select apps and games through a device that brought smart TV technology to people who may have not had a smart TV at all.

Australia didn’t see much in the way of the Google TV boxes, but Sony tried to release one here, providing the NSX-GS7 Google TV set-top box for $349, a price point we didn’t agree with, and we couldn’t find many who did.

Since then, there hasn’t been a Google TV in this country, not an official one anyway, although quite a few Smart TVs have adopted Android as their main operating system, providing the Android ecosystem of apps, games, and Chrome web browser to people on a big screen.

Back in 2010, this wasn’t possible, since Android was still very new, but years on, the Android OS is one of the biggest and most stable in the world, boasting a billion users.

This year, though, Android won’t be the only choice people have for a TV operating system, as Google revives its TV concept and shifts the development to a new version of Android.

It won’t look the same either, with a cleaner image heavy look that also boasts the flat look Google now goes for in its devices, with personalised recommendations also thrown in and support for Google’s voice activation technology, which can be found across phones, tablets, and even the inbound Google Android Wear smartwatches.

Availability on this one is unknown at this point, though, so we’ll let you know more when we hear about it from Google itself.