Google Moves to TVs With Help From Intel and Sony

By BRAD STONE
Published: May 20, 2010

At Google’s annual I/O conference here on Thursday, the search giant announced that it is leading a group of companies, including Sony and Intel, in an effort called Google TV.

Google’s Android software, originally developed for smartphones, will power the new service, set to run on a range of high-definition TVs and devices that connect to TVs, which will go on sale later this year.

Google said its Google TV service would combine traditional television programming with Internet video, and would allow people to easily search for programs without scrolling through unwieldy onscreen TV directories.

The effort is likely to face formidable challenges. Google must convince TV manufacturers other than Sony to use its software. And consumers have demonstrated little interest, so far, in connecting to the Web via their TVs.