Sony Google TV Products Available This Month

On Oct. 16 Sony Style stores will be the first to carry Sony HDTVs and a Blu-ray Disc player with Google TV built in, with Best Buy stores carrying the much-hyped products a week later.

Analysts contend more than 40 million households will have Internet-connected TVs by 2015, up from 2 million this year.

Dubbed Sony Internet TV, the HDTVs and Blu-ray player have fully integrated Google TV, allowing for Web surfing on a full Internet browser, and the ability to watch TV and surf the Internet at the same time.

“Sony Internet TV is the world’s first HDTV that combines the big-screen impact of television and full Internet search to deliver an unrivaled entertainment experience,” said Mike Abary, SVP of Sony’s Home Division. “Finally, you can seamlessly search your favorite TV programs and websites on the same screen, at the same time.”

All four HDTVs (24-inch, $599.99; 32-inch, $799.99; 40-inch, $999.99; 46-inch, $1,399.99) include four HDMI and four USB ports, a keypad remote with optical mouse and built-in Wi-Fi. Later this fall certain smartphones will be able to link to the HDTVs, and in early 2011 owners of the HDTVs will be able to download applications from Android Market. The Blu-ray player ($399.99) will also have access to Android applications in early 2011.

“We are very proud to be the pioneers of this new entertainment category by delivering the world’s first true Internet TV experience,” said Bob Ishida, SVP, corporate executive, and president of Home Entertainment Business Group for Sony Corp. “Sony Internet TV creates value by introducing new and compelling ways to enjoy a variety of content.”

The HDTVs and Blu-ray player also come packaged with Sony’s video-on-demand service, and preloaded applications including CNBC, Napster, NBA, Netflix, Pandora, Twitter and YouTube.

Logitech Oct. 6 unveiled its Google TV-enabled device, a plug-and-play companion device that gives HDTV owners full Internet access on their screens ($299).

Paul Gagnon, director of North America TV research for DisplaySearch, called Google TV devices “the biggest revolution in TVs in a long time,” and predicted more hardware companies would go with Google TV in 2011.

“It’s certainly new territory,” he said. “The TV is not a PC, but it’s becoming a more active device, as opposed to the passive way we’ve interacted with TVs before.”