Sony just launched four new televisions that are Google TV-capable for sale in the US. And we already knew about Sony’s partnership with Ericsson in producing Android smartphones (I’ve certainly given them enough grief in the past about launching them with Android OS 1.6).
But Sony has more plans for the little green robot. The televisions were just the first project that Sony and Google have brought out after reaching an agreement in May to bring out more Android-based products.
“We’re thinking about using Android in more consumer electronics products,” Yoshihisa Ishida, head of Sony’s television division, told reporters in Tokyo.
Ishida did not specify what other products Sony could build with Android inside. But given the wide range of their consumer line, the possibilities are fascinating. Engadget points out that the Sony Ericsson partnership has an Android 3.0 mobile gaming platform in development, with PlayStation branding. The fun and games continue at that PlayStation division, where there are open reqs for Android developers.
So what other electronics could benefit from Android? Perhaps the menus in their next videocam could be made a lot more user-friendly by running the whole interface on Android, and letting the consumer decide how the menu hierarchy should be set up. Then after shooting and cleaning up video (as well as throwing in captions pretty quickly), the cam would upload it to YouTube using your Android phone as a mobile hotspot, and share it on Facebook and Twitter as well.
Imagine the possibilities with Sony’s digital SLR camera line! Not only could your images go straight to the cloud, but you could add a pile of comments about shooting conditions to each image file if you wish. Or organize them in sets as you shoot and have a comment for each batch.
What kind of consumer devices do you see made so much better with Android?