Sony to Announce Android TVs Running on Atom at Google I/O
A few weeks back Intel announced they had ported Android to their Atom series of processors, and now we are getting word of what could be one of the first Android-based devices to make use of the technology. A few unnamed insiders claim that Sony will announce their collaboration with Google during the upcoming Google I/O conference on May 19th and 20th in San Francisco.
The article over at Bloomberg states that the new line of television and home entertainment devices will use a custom-version of the Atom processor to run a new version of Android. They reference this new version as something called Dragonpoint, which will most likely just be the name for some fancy user interface being developed for the new televisions. Don’t quote me on that though, because as of right now no one knows for sure what Dragonpoint really is.
Sony has been losing some ground in TV sales, dropping behind Samsung and LG in market share, and their hope is that a partnership with Google and Android will get them back on the up and up. We’ve already seen a few Android televisions slated for release in markets outside of the Unites States, but this new line of Sony products will be the first mass-targeted towards North America (that is if Samsung doesn’t beat them to the punch). Sounds like Sony and Google want to shake up the TV market, and Android might be just the thing to do it.
Could this in fact end up being the officialy-branded Google TV we have been hearing whispers of? We’ll only have to wait a few more weeks to get the full details.
[via Bloomberg]