Channel Daily News

Apple & Google working on TV technology

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL)is working on a new way of delivering digital video content to television sets, it has been claimed.

A published report says that Apple is working on new technology to deliver video to televisions, though gave few other details. The article suggests that the company’s plans for digital video will be one of new CEO Tim Cook’s key concerns. As a relative minnow in the digital video space, breaking into the market will be a big test for Cook.

It is thought that the technology could use the functionality of AirPlay and features that will be present in iOS 5 to deliver content from iOS devices to the television. For example, you could run a game from your iPhone, using the iPhone as your controller, while taking advantage of the television’s larger screen for a more immersive experience. Similarly, movies or video content on an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch could be streamed to the television.

The plans could also involve an internet-connected TV set – rumours that Apple has been working on such a device have been circulating for several years.

Of course, Apple still has the Apple TV, which it describes as a “hobby” – largely because the first iteration was far from perfect and didn’t sell well. The latest generation of the Apple TV, though, has been better received.

Google TV could make its way to UK shores within the next six months, in another published report form the U.K.

According to the newspaper, Google TV(Nasdaq: GOOG), for the U.K. will be announced by Google’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt during this year’s MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh Television Festival.

The service will let you watch content from catch-up services such as iPlayer and other web video services like YouTube on your TV. It uses the Android operating system and content is accessed via the Chrome browser.

Android phones will be the remote controls for the service, and it’ll run through set-top boxes that will be available in the U.K. within the next six months, it is claimed.