Google TV - What is it and how can I get one?

Google have built a user interface that runs on a TV to give you access to web content including video, games and apps. This includes Google's Chrome web browser (my favorite web browser.)

You can get Google TV built in to some new TV sets. Or you can buy a Google TV Box that connects to your existing TV to watch videos, play games, browse the web and use android apps. 

Either way, you'll get a large remote control with a keyboard that you can use to access internet content on your big TV.

Let's watch a video overview of Google TV. 

Sony is one of the first electronics companies that Google have partnered with to produce TVs with Google TV built in. 

Getting a Google TV set is worth considering if you need to replace a TV set, especially in a bedroom or kitchen where you'd rather avoid extra boxes cluttering the place up. It's also easy to set up and get running. 

You can also get a Google TV box that works with your existing TV from Logitech or Sony. This option gives you more flexibility in your choice of TV. 

There are a few common scenarios that play out in our house:

• "Mom I want to watch that program with the maned wolf in" Huh? I have no idea what this show is. I have to search the internet until I find the right thing (Diego if you're wondering.) and then find the episode somewhere on our TV (we use MythTV which is powerful but not as easy as I would like.)
• "I've just instant messaged you a link to a YouTube video you should watch" - my partner at the other end of the sofa. We both watch the video on our laptops while our big TV looks like a big black picture frame on the wall. 
• "What's the weather like today?" One or both of us check the weather on a laptop and then try and look over each other's shoulders at laptop screens. Or we both check different weather sites and get different predictions ...
• "I'm watching this really cool show you'd like on video on demand. You should watch it too." So we both watch the same show separately on our laptops. Again that big TV just hangs there on the wall doing nothing. 

I'm in the UK so we're going to have to wait a bit longer for Google TV (2013 apparently.) But I can definitely see where Google are coming from on this one. I'm looking forward to Google TV.