UK to see Google TV

Google is bringing its connected TV platform, Google TV, to the UK, according to reports.

The platform runs on the Google Android operating system and allows people to watch TV, browse the internet, access Android apps and access on-demand video services such as Netflix and YouTube HD in the US. It also allows users to use picture-in-picture to watch TV and browse the web at the same time.

Following its launch in the US, the system — accessed through a set-top box — will be making its way to the UK in the next six months, according to The Telegraph.

Eric Schmidt, chairman and former chief executive of Google, is expected to give more details on the expansion plans during his speech at the MacTaggart lecture, taking place at the Edinburgh Television Festival on Friday evening.

A Google spokesman told ZDNet UK on Friday that the reports circulating were "speculation" and that "Google has no comment on these".

Google first announced the platform at its I/O conference in May 2010 and launched it in the US in October the same year.

As well as browsing the internet, accessing Android apps and watching TV, the set-top box can also be controlled by a smartphone running Android.

On Monday, Google released a preview of its software development tools aimed at Google TV. The tool is a plug-in for the existing Android SDK that allows developers to check if their apps are suitable for Google TV, or whether they need to be modified.

"While the add-on does not contain all features of Google TV, it enables developers to emulate Google TV and build apps using standard Android SDK tools," Ambarish Kenghe, product manager of Google TV, wrote in a blog post.

"Depending on the design and use case, an existing Android app may work well on Google TV as is, or it may require fixes. With the add-on you can test your apps to determine if they would be a good fit for TV and whether any tweaks are required," he added.