Google TV: Thoughts From Left Field
- 1. Google TV: Thoughts From Left Field Copyright © 2011 CommonsWare, LLC
- 2. Google TV Rollout ● Rolling Out Your App – Initially: Nothing ● Do not enable Google TV support until you have at least tested it in the emulator ● One chance to make a first impression – Next Tier: Not Completely Stupid ● App is usable if not ideally suited for the form factor – Ultimate: Optimized Copyright © 2011 CommonsWare, LLC
- 3. Google TV Rollout ● Example: Video Player – Nothing: Relies on swiping – Not Completely Stupid ● Focus works, can navigate with D-pad – Optimized ● Eliminate on-screen controls for play, pause, etc.; use remote instead ● Tip: get rid of extraneous focusable widgets Copyright © 2011 CommonsWare, LLC
- 4. Google TV Business Models ● App-Centric – TV app as premium offering – Cable provider partnerships ● Licensing ● Sponsorships ● Provider-supplied ads/sponsors – Show-related apps ● Video for those not able to get niche channel ● Socializing around the show, real-time Copyright © 2011 CommonsWare, LLC
- 5. Google TV Business Models ● Other Services – TV UX Expert ● Lots of phone UX experts, fewer tablet UX experts, negligible experts for TV – TV Firmware Expert ● Many smaller manufacturers may want to use the Google TV concepts in their set-top boxes and TVs ● Learn the ropes via firmware mods and kin Copyright © 2011 CommonsWare, LLC
- 6. Features and Niches ● Likely Popular Features – Sync: share content, context with other Android devices – Throw: seamless real-time sync ● Likely Popular Niches – Anything video-related (duh!) – Edutainment ● Not just for children anymore! Copyright © 2011 CommonsWare, LLC
- 7. Emulator ● Step #1: Get a Nice CPU – Intel with VT extensions (e.g., Core i7) – AMD with SVM extensions ● Step #2: Get Linux – No current support for Windows, OS X ● Step #3: Get KVM – Virtualization engine, akin to VirtualBox, Xen Copyright © 2011 CommonsWare, LLC
- 8. Emulator ● Step #4: Get Android SDK and Tools – Google TV add-on available from SDK Manager – Use R15 Android Developer Tools! ● Step #5: Create an AVD – 720p or 1080p ● Live Linux USB Key Copyright © 2011 CommonsWare, LLC
- 9. Debugging on Real Hardware ● Configure Google TV Box – Only accepts debugger connections from 1 IP ● adb connect <ipaddr> – Adds IP-based connection – Google TV box will show up in DDMS – Can use as if locally attached – Helpful if the TV is somewhere nearby... Copyright © 2011 CommonsWare, LLC