Sony Internet TV - Google Powered!

Sony’s Google TV television range, also known as Sony Internet TV (SIT), has finally been announced officially, with prices, sizes, features and other details. Sony’s premium to embed Google TV into television sets seems minimal. Wonder why!

• NSX-24GT1 - $599
• NSX-32GT1 - $799
• NSX-40GT1 - $999
• NSX-46GT1 - $1399

All of the Sony Internet TV sets are edge-lit LED LCD, except the 24-inch model, which is CFFL. An integrated web-cam seems to be an obvious missing feature. Sony intends to provide simultaneous web surfing and TV, with what it calls "Dual View." Sony Internet Television will also enable users to search programs, the web, DVR, applications, etc., from a single place. You will also be able to access your PC content with a DLNA connection. People saw Sony’s button-loving QWERTY remote control, and now it's learnt that it is an RF learning (i.e. universal) remote. The ability to controlling the television with an Android smartphone will also be coming soon.

Sony’s Google TV sets are powered by Android and an Intel Atom processor, and feature Wi-Fi connectivity and USB ports built-in.A Sony Internet TV compatible Blu-ray player will also be available. Pre-orders are open for the televisions now, while they are expected in stores in the U.S. by October 24th. By announcing it will be the only TV vendor for Google TV this year.

Google Chrome OS Netbook specs leaked!!!

Some details about the upcoming Google Chrome OS based netbooks has leaked and the specification look delicious indeed.

The Chrome OS devices will be powered by an NVIDIA Tegra chipset with an ARM processor which uses less power and gives better performance than current Intel Atom chipsets. The Tegra chipset is also what powers Microsoft's Zune HD.

Chrome OS, which was announced back in July had been the center of some rather wild speculation until finally Google unveiled the OS and made the bitter sweet announcement that Chrome OS would not be released by Google as an installable operating system for current netbooks but would be a device in itself. The Chrome OS netbooks were meant to be used a companion devices, not intended to replace current computers but to be seen as more of a browser-on-the-go.

By having a completely new hardware platform to run the OS, Google was able to cut down booting time to a mere 7 seconds, with even more scope for improvement, making the device switch on like a TV. To achieve this Google will use a custom boot sequence which will skip steps which are no longer required -- such as searching for a flopy drive -- and will add an integrity checking step to ensure that the OS in not infected by malware. With this the OS can always be kept malware free and at the latest version. The operating system would run off an SSD drive instead of a regular HDD.

Since then speculation has run wild again as to what kind of machine would power this device, and now some of that is put to rest. Besides the Tegra chipset the system will have a 64GB SSD drive -- as expected -- and 2GB RAM. Since the device is meant to surf the internet it will feature WiFi, and 3G connectivity, and an Ethernet port. The rest of the usual fare such as a multi-card reader, bluetooth, USB ports, webcam, and a 3.5" audio jack will also be present. Additionally the device will feature a 10.1" HD ready TFT display with multi-touch capability.

And if that wasn't good enough, rumors are that the device will subsidized and priced at sub-$300(under Rs. 15,000)! In the US they might even be bundled with 3G data plans with wireless carriers.

The remarkably low price coupled with the powerful configuration makes for a great bargain. So even while the specification are still far form being facts, they do paint a pretty picture of a Chrome OS device.

NOKIA - INTEL Collaboration!!!

Fellows - This is an interesting tech news that I have come across!!! Check it out and have an idea of the future!

Nokia and Intel recently announced a "long-term relationship" of mutual benefit which in the least stands to bring in a new wave of ultra-portable, mobile enabled, internet capable devices.

While Nokia had shown interest in the netbook arena some time ago, this "relationship" stands for much more, as in Intel's own terms, they plan to "develop a new class of
Intel® Architecture-based mobile computing device and chipset architectures which will combine the performance of powerful computers with high-bandwidth mobile broadband communications and ubiquitous Internet connectivity".

With a partnership like this the sky is the limit...Perhaps Intel's Moorestown devices could be the child of this relationship! Intel already has Atom, which is rather successful in some of the most compact computers available today and Intel's code-name Lincroft chipset is suggestive of even smaller devices with lower power requirements.

Mobile phones even today offer nothing close to the experience we get from a "proper" computer. Even the lowliest of Netbooks today can challenge perhaps the best of mobile phones, with an operating system like windows or Linux, you can get much further than what you possibly could in a mobile device. With this coming fusion though, we might as well see something which lie in between. Mobile phones, MIDs, or even portable media devices which offer close to as much power as an full computer.

This unison transcends even the bonds of hardware, as Nokia and Intel have plans for collaboration around the open source spheres of Linux. The Intel supported Moblin platform which is optimized for use in ultra mobile computers with the Atom processor and Nokia's Maemo platform which runs its N810 Internet tablet are both based on Linux and they plan to foster better compatibility between these platforms for an even better mobile experience.

As said by Anand Chandrasekher, Intel Corporation senior vice president and general manager, Ultra Mobility Group, "This Intel and Nokia collaboration unites and focuses many of the brightest computing and communications minds in the world, and will ultimately deliver open and standards-based technologies, which history shows drive rapid innovation, adoption and consumer choice. With the convergence of the Internet and mobility as the team's only barrier, I can only imagine the innovation that will come out of our unique relationship with Nokia. The possibilities are endless."
Intel and Nokia have both showcased their rather bold visions of the future of portable devices!!!