Earlier this week we looked at the upcoming launch of Google TV. It’s slated for this fall (U.S.) and will be integrated into a new line of Sony Internet TVs. Meanwhile a Swedish company has just launched its own Internet TV, built on top of Google’s open source Android Operating System.
The company is called People of Lava and its new line of Internet TVs is called Scandinavia (in the same way that Sony has a line of TVs called ‘Bravia’). With the tagline “Window to the World,” the Scandanavia comes in 3 sizes: 42″, 47″ and 55″. The new product was unveiled this week at the IFA consumer electronics trade show in Berlin.
Firstly, to clarify that Google TV is a software product built on Android. It will be integrated into televisions (like the Sony Internet TV) and set-top boxes. It appears that People of Lava plans to integrate Google TV into its TVs too, but for now it has gotten a jump on Sony by building its own Android-based Internet TV software.
The People of Lava TV will come pre-loaded with applications, including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Google Maps, email client and a web browser. The browser is custom built, based on Webkit (the foundation of many modern web browsers, including Safari and Chrome). The company says that it will launch a “People of Lava App Store,” but no time frame has been given. Also included in the TV package is a wireless keyboard with a pointer/mouse.
Right now the TVs are only available to purchase in Sweden.
How Will it Compare to Sony Internet TV?
It will be interesting to see how this fares against the Sony line when that’s released in the fall, as Sony has the benefit of having the official Google TV software integrated from the get-go. Sony is also of course a well established TV manufacturing brand, whereas People of Lava is relatively unknown.
People of Lava is clearly trying to get a jump on Google’s anointed partner Sony and establish a name for itself in Internet TVs. However it’s likely to be short-lived glory, as Sony’s offering will surely be more advanced due to the inclusion of Google TV. So the question will become: how fast can People of Lava iterate to compete?
