Google TV to become Android TV as the mobile OS takes center stage

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Published 11 Oct 2013

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Google is ready to drop its name from its smart TV platform and rebrand it with the Android moniker, says a report in GigaOM. Google’s  next generation smart TV devices will be powered by the latest version of Android in an offering the company possibly is calling “Android TV.”

According to GigaOM, Google, its hardware partners and developers are gradually moving away from the Google TV name. The source report points out that Sony’s recent smart TV adapter is powered by the latest version of Google TV, but the marketing material does not mention this fact. Instead of Google TV, the device  is said to ““bring the full power of Google services to your TV.”

To keep its Android-based smart TV up-to-date, Google is updating the platform to the latest version of Android. The Android 4.2 version will allegedly debut this quarter with LG being the first to the market with an update that could hit its devices sometime in the next month. This move to a more recent version of Android will benefit consumers, who will likely see tighter integration between their phone and TV. Developers also get a boost from this common platform as it will be easier to write an app for both the phone and TV. Both devices will use the same core APIs and development tools since they both will run a similar version of Android.

[Via GigaOM]