Google TV comes to Canada - Vancouver Sun (blog)

Google TV is coming to Canada this August.

In the latest product that can turn your television an Internet-enabled device,  Sony's Internet Player with Google TV will let you surf the Internet on your TV as easily as you can on your computer and it will deliver up apps from Google's Play Store.

Sony becomes the first manufacturer to release a product in Canada powered by the Google TV platform with  its new player — priced at $200 and due to arrive on store shelves in August. According to Sony's release  pre-orders start this Wednesday (June 27) although when I checked on the web site, it appears you can pre-order now.

"We are proud to continue our relationship with Google and be the first manufacturer in Canada to introduce a product powered by the Google TV platform,"  Hideki Ito, senior director of marketing, home network products at Sony Canada said in a release. "Through the introduction of the Sony Internet Player with Google TV, we are expanding the reach and connectivity of the powerful Android platform which includes Sony's smartphones, tablet and renowned audio and video products.

"Google TV enhances the viewer experience by allowing consumers to easily find what they want to watch, listen to or play using familiar search engine technology."

Sony will be following up that Google TV release with another Google TV product to be released in time for holiday gift-giving. Its newest Blu-ray Disc player, the  NSZ-GS7 Internet Player, a full high definition player that has a built-in microphone for voice searching, will give consumers another way to access the Google TV platform.

Google TV delivers Google's Chrome web browser to your television, along with YouTube for Google TV and Google Play to deliver apps optimized for television from Google's Play store.

Both the new Internet Player with Google TV and the Google-TV enabled Blu-ray player have a remote control with a backlit QWERTY keyboard, a touch pad and a three-axis motion sensor for playing games. The remote can also be used to control other devices in your entertainment network such as TVs, other set-top boxes and A/V receivers.

The Internet Player with Google TV can be pre-ordered through Sony retail stores on through its online site.