Netgear tries its hand at Google TV with NeoTV PRIME; introduces home monitoring and screen mirroring products
It looks like Google will get another name into the Google TV world as Netgear has decided to release a product with the internet TV operating system. The company has announced the NeoTV PRIME, a set-top streaming box that delivers the same Google TV experience we’ve always been used to, except with Netgear’s expertise in media streaming hardware. It’s an exciting marriage that should give Google’s struggling platform a decent boost in conjunction with other OEMs stepping into the fold.
Like most Google TV devices, the NeoTV PRIME comes with a dual-sided remote control — one side will give you traditional video and navigation controls, while the other side houses a mini keyboard for typing. Netgear’s controller is quite nice with dedicated buttons for Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Instant Video, Vudu and more.
Netgear makes use of aVia, a media playing app that can find photos, audio and video from any form of digital storage, including your Android phones and tablets. At the end of the day it’s yet another Google TV device, but at $130 it’s worth giving it a shot if you’ve been looking for something quite recent. The device is supposed to be available right now in major retailers across the United States so be sure to check out your local Best Buy or Walmart if you’re interested. Find the full press release below.
That wasn’t all Netgear came to Vegas with, though. The company introduced a night vision add-on camera which is compatible with many of its NeoTV products. The camera can stream its feed to an Android device so you can monitor your couch (or wherever your TV might happen to be pointed at) from afar.
They also introduced the Push 2 TV wireless display adapter, a plug-and-play adapter that’ll allow you to mirror your smartphone, tablet, laptop and more right to your television. It’s not unlike Intel’s WiDi or the proprietary adapters from the likes of Samsung and HTC, but this product is device agnostic so there is a lot more in the compatibility department. Push2TV supports both WiFi and Miracast so if any of your products support these two technologies you’ll be able to stream your screen all the same.
LAS VEGAS, Jan. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — NETGEAR®, Inc. (NASDAQGM: NTGR) (www.netgear.com), a global networking company that delivers innovative products to consumers, businesses and service providers, announced today at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES®) the new NETGEAR NeoTV® PRIME with Google TV (GTV100) streaming player. As the newest addition to the NETGEAR family of streaming players for connected home theater entertainment, NeoTV PRIME enables you to easily find what you love to watch —whether it’s on live TV, streaming entertainment, apps, or the web— using one small NeoTV player.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130107/SF37462)
Building on the features of NETGEAR NeoTV, NeoTV PRO and NeoTV MAX family of streaming players, the new NeoTV PRIME with Google TV extends your entertainment experience beyond just streaming video or even basic TV viewing. NeoTV PRIME opens up the world of apps from Google Play, delivering access to a growing library of entertainment including movies, TV shows, and music from streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, HBO Go, Crackle, Flixter, Rhapsody, Pandora and many more. Google Play gives you movies and new releases in HD, music albums, and apps designed specifically for the TV.
NeoTV PRIME supports playback of your personal media from external USB hard drives and home media servers. With the pre-installed aVia media player app on NeoTV PRIME, you can play, manage and share your videos, music, and photos from any of your digital storage and Google Android devices to your big screen TV. Thanks to the ‘My Media’ quick-start button on the NeoTV PRIME remote control, you easily access the media player app with the mere push of a button.
“Today, more than ever, consumers have to go back and forth through a number of home theater devices to find the entertainment they want to watch,” said Damir Skripic, product line manager for connected entertainment at NETGEAR. “With your NeoTV PRIME, you can access apps, live TV programming, and the web through one home theater device that continues to learn as you watch.”
NeoTV PRIME with Google TV offers PrimeTime, an app that helps you find and watch your favorite movies and TV shows all in one place, whether they are on live TV, an app, or the web. The remote control has a keyboard that makes it fast and easy to search for the shows that you want. With the press of a button, PrimeTime finds content recommended for you by learning what you like to watch and organizes it so you don’t need to scroll through the numerous pages of a live TV guide, or browse different apps to find the right movie.
The Chromebrowser offers access to the entire web directly on the TV, while Search enables you to look across multiple sources simultaneously to find your favorite entertainment. Even more, with the picture-in-picture feature, you can surf the web while watching live TV, all at the same time.
Thanks to NeoTV PRIME with Google TV, it’s never been easier to watch YouTube on your big-screen TV. Furthermore, when you update the YouTube mobile app on your Android smartphone or tablet, you will see a new button within the YouTube mobile app making it possible to send videos from your mobile devices to NeoTV PRIME with a single tap. Find a video on the YouTube app for Android, click the TV icon that appears on the app when your Android device and NeoTV PRIME are connected to the same WiFi network, and the video will play instantly.
NeoTV PRIME comes with a two-sided remote control, featuring a touchpad and directional pad on one side and a full-featured QWERTY keyboard on the other, giving you fast and easy control of all your applications and helping you to effortlessly search across the web, apps and television listings.
Pricing and Availability
The NETGEAR NeoTV PRIME with Google TV (GTV100) is available now in the United States from major retailers in stores and online at a suggested retail price of USD $129.99.
More Information
Visit www.netgear.com/gtv100 to learn more about NeoTV PRIME with Google TV. For information on other NETGEAR connected entertainment products, please visit www.netgear.com/stream.
NETGEAR launched a number of new WiFi, networking and media streaming products today during a press conference held in conjunction with the opening of CES in Las Vegas. Read the other CES-related announcements from NETGEAR atnetgear.com/about/press-releases/.
About NETGEAR, Inc.
NETGEAR (NASDAQGM: NTGR) is a global networking company that delivers innovative products to consumers, businesses and service providers. For consumers, the company makes high performance, dependable and easy to use home networking, storage and digital media products to connect people with the Internet and their content and devices. For businesses, NETGEAR provides networking, storage and security solutions without the cost and complexity of big IT. The company also supplies top service providers with retail proven, whole home solutions for their customers. NETGEAR products are built on a variety of proven technologies such as wireless, Ethernet and Powerline, with a focus on reliability and ease-of-use. NETGEAR products are sold in approximately 25,000 retail locations around the globe, and through approximately 40,000 value-added resellers. The company’s headquarters are in San Jose, Calif., with additional offices in over 25 countries. NETGEAR is an ENERGY STAR® partner. More information is available at www.NETGEAR.com or by calling (408) 907-8000. Connect with NETGEAR at twitter.com/NETGEAR and www.facebook.com/NETGEAR.
©2013 NETGEAR, Inc. NETGEAR, the NETGEAR logo, and NeoTV are registered trademarks of NETGEAR, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. Android, Chrome, Google Play, Google TV and YouTube are trademarks or registered trademarks of Google Inc. Other brand names mentioned herein are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective holder(s). Information is subject to change without notice. All rights reserved.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for NETGEAR, Inc.: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Specifically, statements concerning NETGEAR’s business and the expected performance characteristics, specifications, reliability, market acceptance, market growth, specific uses, user feedback and market position of NETGEAR’s products and technology are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Safe Harbor. These statements are based on management’s current expectations and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, the following: the actual price, performance and ease of use of NETGEAR’s products may not meet the price, performance and ease of use requirements of customers; product performance may be adversely affected by real world operating conditions; failure of products may under certain circumstances cause permanent loss of end user data; new viruses or Internet threats may develop that challenge the effectiveness of security features in NETGEAR’s products; the ability of NETGEAR to market and sell its products and technology; the impact and pricing of competing products; and the introduction of alternative technological solutions. Further information on potential risk factors that could affect NETGEAR and its business are detailed in the Company’s periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, those risks and uncertainties listed in the section entitled “Part II – Item 1A. Risk Factors,” pages 46 through 65, in the Company’s quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2012, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 6, 2012. NETGEAR undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
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