Google who already have a close relationship with Hisense in Australia is set to expand their Android TV offering with both Philips, Sony and ASUS set to launch Android TV powered offerings.
Also set to cuddle up to Google in an effort to get traction in the gaming market Roku who is best known for their gaming mouse offering in Australia.
At their Google developer Conference overnight Google announced a new Android TV entertainment hub similar to what Apple is leading selling, even the interface looks similar to what Apple is offering.
Google said that users wi8ll be able to control the interface using a gaming controller, remote, or an app. You can also use an Android Wear watch as a D-pad to navigate through the interface.
The interface is based on cards you can scroll through. Cards are organized into Movies, Shows, Games and Apps sections and look reminiscent of a small movie poster. And as for apps, Android TV will support a host of custom apps made for the platform, Pandora, and Google’s own apps, like YouTube, Hangouts, and Play Movies.
These will be available in a store that Google will open in Australia with the launch of Android TV.
Like Google TV before it, you’ll be able to control Android TV with your voice. And Google Search functionality is built into the interface, Google said that it will be super easy to search for content or information.
Gaming is also a big focus of Android TV. You can use an Android tablet as a controller, for example, while an Android game is broadcast on your TV set.
Android TV features full Google Cast support, so you can also use it just like a Chromecast. And as Google Cast improves, so will Android TV-like the new ability to cast straight to a Chromecast or Android TV without needing to be on the same Wi-Fi network (by pressing the cast button on the YouTube Android app, for example, it will connect through the cloud over the cellular network so friends can cast to your TV with very little friction). You can also mirror any Android device on your television, much like iOS users can do with the Apple TV.
Google Cast will also have a new ambient option called Backdrop, which lets you add personal photos, information like the weather, or specific genre images to the screen when you’re not casting something. You can also get more information about the image on the screen on your handset.
All of Sony’s 4K televisions and Phillips TVs will support Android TV.
Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan said that their new console will be powered by Android TV, with an emphasis on gaming.
The yet to be named micro-console will be controlled by a special application for Android smartphones and tablets.
“This is the console of the future,” said Tan. “Built on Google’s incredible Android TV platform, the Razer micro-console incorporates not only hardcore and casual gaming, but music, movies and other entertainment and social applications, all on an affordable system.”
The team behind some of Razer’s recent developments in the computing world are working on the console according to the company.
Previous projects for the designers include the Razer Blade and Razerr Blade Pro laptops, as well as the modular PC, Project Christine, the company showed off at CES 2014.
