Google has launched version 2.0 of Google TV with the update arriving for Sony Internet TV devices already and with the Logitech Revue set to receive the update soon.
The new update offers an easier to use user interface with the entire client being powered by Android 3.1. That also means that Google TV 2.0 is also a platform for Android applications and indeed the Android Market is bundled with the update.
Google's streaming TV service has not so far been a runaway success with reviewers often complaining that the service was too difficult to user. Logitech's Google TV-powered Revue was also met with sluggish sales which forced the manufacturer to slash the price to clear inventory.
"The initial version of Google TV wasn’t perfect, but launching it gave us the opportunity to learn," Google product managment boss Mario Queiroz posted on the Google TV blog.
"These are still early days, and we’re working hard to move forward with each update," Queiroz added.
Google is no doubt hoping that the revamped Google TV will meet with greater success. Among the new features are improved search for TV and movies with the search spanning connected services such as YouTube, Netflix, Amazon and local TV.
The internet giant described the availability of internet based content as a "new chapter for television," saying that it was not not about taking TV onto the web but rather "bringing millions of new channels to your TV from the next generation of creators, application developers, and networks."
The Android App compatibility wont result in thousands of applications being available, however, since apps that require touchscreen interfaces and other hardware features of smartphones and tablets will not work.
50 application developers have created compatible Google TV apps so far, the company said, and many more are on the way.
Google introduced the new Google TV 2.0 on a dedicated web site which includes the YouTube video which shows off the new interface:
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