Why hello there, Google TV. We’ve been wondering when you’d show up on our sunburnt shores. Sony has announced that it will now be bundling the web giant’s TV box in with some of its TVs from this week.
When you purchase a Sony HX-750 or HX-850 TV from Wednesday, you’ll get a Google TV thrown in.
It’ll come with Sony’s new remote — a nifty little device that’s almost as clever as the box it controls.
The remote on one side features a slew of home and input switching keys, as well as a large multi-touch trackpad. On the other, it features an edge-to-edge, backlit keyboard complete with dedicated search hotkeys. To make sure you don’t click out of your own text box while typing, Sony has configured the remote to only activate the input device that’s facing upwards.
The remote can also be used as a universal remote for your home entertainment setup. The remote hooks into the Google TV box via Bluetooth and the box has two infrared blasters on its top left and right sides which send commands to your other devices. Nifty.
That in-built gyro can also be used for gaming, which you can do thanks to access to the Google Play store from the Google TV. That means you can buy yourself apps that will let you control the box with your Android smartphone and work with the iPad’s AirPlay functionality.
The box itself runs on Honeycomb and as a result, it has Chrome built-in. That makes the device a contender to replace your existing HTPC setup (sorry Mac Mini owners) completely.
The device isn’t for sale separately just yet, you’ll only get it when you buy a Sony TV from June 28. Sony won’t say when it will be sold separately, nor will the company price it, but we know that the Google TV box itself is valued at $350. That’s not what it’ll cost if and when it goes on sale separately, but it’s an indication of what you might expect to pay locally.