Earlier this month, brave, screwdriver-wielding developers got an early jump on creating Android apps for Google TV when a group of hackers figured out a hardware root for the device. Now, the day they were waiting for – the opening of the Android Market for Google TV – looks to be one step closer.
According to one keen-eyed developer, the Android Market servers received a Google TV-related update today and it could be a sign that the app marketplace is soon on its way.
“#Android market servers seem to have had a @googletv related update. Publishers are now warned that ‘touchscreen’ is a filtering feature,” tweeted Al Sutton.
Android Community and Boy Genius Reports both picked up on the story, with BGR writing that “Google has not yet confirmed that the new ‘android.hardware.touchscreen’ filter is directly related to Google TV, but the writing is certainly on the wall – or screen, as it may be.”
Android Community notes that the new feature “checks whether an app requires a touchscreen; that’s something you’ll find on an Android smartphone, but not on a Google TV device such as Logitech’s Revue.”
A Google spokesperson said “We’ve never given a specific timeline on access to the market, but we’re still on track with our overall plans to launch the market this year.”