HDTV/3D TV News
Yahoo introduced its TV Widgets as again, it attempts to merge the Internet and each person’s TV. Together with Intel, Yahoo plans to include this concept into a range of products this year. These includes flat-panel TVs and DVD players.
However, the first set that can fully utilize this service is the Samsung LED 7100 Series. The set is already equipped with Yahoo’s TV widgets which are basically mini-applications that connect directly to the Web using Intel’s Media Processor CE 3100.
Other sets from Sony and Vizio, is set to release their own widget-capable flat-panel HDTVs, set-top boxes and DVD players. Comcast will enter into field trials with a widget set-top box by the third or fourth quarter, LG will put it into its Blu-ray players, and Toshiba is planning on using the technology for its HDTVs.
However, this new technology might not just be for everyone. These 46-inch panels using Yahoo’s TV Widgets costs about US$3,000 and the 55-inch model costs $3,799. They can connect to the Internet either through a built-in wired Ethernet connection or via a Wi-fi connection through a separately sold $80 USB dongle.
As for the service itself, only four widgets are available as of the moment. These are Yahoo News, Yahoo Weather, Yahoo Finance and Yahoo Flickr. According to Yahoo, approximately two dozen more widgets will be available by June and there will be 100 from which to choose by the end of the year. Available soon will be widgets from Accedo Games, Twitter, Yahoo Video, eBay, USA Today, Yahoo Sports, Showtime, CBS Entertainment, the New York Times, and CinemaNow. Others that have announced plans to develop widgets include Disney/ABC, MySpace, Viacom/MTV, Netflix, Amazon, Blockbuster, Associated Press and Joost.
According to a Yahoo demonstration video, pressing one button on the TV remote loads the widget toolbar, a customizable, scrollable horizontal set of icons located at the bottom of the screen. Widgets can be undocked to see more detail without interrupting ongoing TV viewing.
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