Nikkei Electronics Asia --July 2010
Analysis
Will Unchecked Commoditization of TVs Finally Allow the PC Industry to Enter the Market?

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Jul 1, 2010 00:08 Toshiyuki Omori

Televisions are becoming mere commodities, especially in the United States, and as commoditization progresses, TVs are growing closer and closer to PCs. In response to the trend, manufacturers in the PC industry are hoping to move into the TV industry. For a better understanding of what's going on, we took a look inside the ROBRO-TV, the first set to mount the Atom from Intel Corp. of the US.

(Illustration: Junichi Yamai)

Symbols of Commoditization: Google and MediaTek Enter the Field

Flatscreen TVs are the pride of the home appliance world. Manufacturers load them up with the very latest technologies, and compete fiercely in image quality, three-dimensional (3D) imagery and more. As networking technology progresses, however, the very character of TVs is changing, as symbolized by two major stories that made global headlines in February and March 2010.

Fig.1 Big News Shakes the TV Industry
In March 2010, the New York Times reported that Google, Intel and Sony are jointly developing a TV.

On February 22, 2010, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. of the US announced the acquisition of VUDU, Inc. of the US, a firm involved in online video rental. The widespread opinion was that Wal-Mart was only interested in selling inexpensive TVs, and it purchase of a major content provider for networked TVs sent shockwaves through the TV industry.

The other big news was the entry of Google Inc. of the US into the market. On March 17, 2010, the New York Times stated that Google, Intel, and Sony Corp. of Japan were jointly developing the "Google TV" platform for TVs and STBs (Fig.1). The OS is Android, now under development by a number of firms centered on Google, the microprocessor is Intel's Atom, and the set will be able to browse the Web. Google is commoditizing network equipment via Android, increasing the number of networked users worldwide with the ultimate goal of increasing its advertising revenues. Taken together, these events show clearly that TV networking is developing rapidly.