Google TV set to launch TV service in US later this year

Google has confirmed that it is planning to launch its own TV service, Google TV, later this year. Initially Google TV will only be available in the US, but there are plans to extend it globally in 2011.

Eric Scmidt, chief executive of Google, announced this launch during the IFA Technology show in Berlin.

He said that a deal has been made between Google and Sony already, which will allow Google TV to be integrated with Sony television sets but that “it is very unlikely we will get into actual content production”.

The Google TV service would be free, and allow full internet browsing via television.

According to a Bloomberg report, Samsung may also look to build TV sets with the Google TV Internet and video platform built-in.

Apparently, the decision about whether to use the software or not could depend on which content providers Google signs. According to Bloomberg:

“”We will have to see, but we are reviewing” whether to use Google’s Android operating system, Yoon Boo Keun, head of Samsung’s TV business, told reporters today.”

During the IFA Technology show, Scmidt also spoke about what he calls the “age of augmented humanity” – a time when internet-connected devices will automatically understand what a user wants to know.

He explained further, about devices envisioning what’s next after search: “When you ask what’s the weather like, what you’re really asking is, ‘Do I wear a raincoat or do I water the plants?'”

Schmidt said that Bill Gates proposed the idea of “information at your fingertips” in 1990, and added that “We’re nearly there now, which is what’s so profound… You can literally know everything.”

During the lecture, Schmidt also said:

• 1 in 3 queries from smartphones now seek information about nearby places
• Google’s mobile search traffic grew by 50% in first half of 2010
• Chrome is four times quicker than it was two years ago
• 1 in 4 searches on Android in U.S. are from voice
• YouTube gets more than 2 billion views per day, 160 million mobile views per day and 24 hours of video uploaded every minute
• YouTube also has more than 2 billion monetized views per week, and the number of advertisers on the site is up 50% on last year. DoubleClick serves more than 45 billion ads per day, with 94 of top 100 Ad Age advertisers

This follows news of Apple have recently announcing the launch of an updated Apple TV device. But the question remains; who will win the battle of the box?