Ok, this post isn’t design related, but I wanted to share this with you. The “idea” isn’t a new one. I remember Internet-TV connections a while back. Google TV seems a bit different, though. It certainly caught my eye, and may very well end up in my living room one day.

Google TV. It’s like a pizza rolled inside a burrito. Decadent, non-stop entertainment that brings together the web and the TV in the most seamless way possible yet. Announced in May, Google TV is now a consumer reality, with Sony shipping its internet-powered televisions, Google’s software included. As well as a couple of boxes by Sony and Logitech that allow you to add Google TV to an existing television. So things are now right in the world: You can watch YouTube clips of cats playing the piano in full HD. This past August, Google TV introduced the icon for its service.

Like the rest of Google’s brands — Chrome, Wave (RIP), Gmail — the Google TV logo lacks sophistication and implements with stubborn consistency its four corporate colors, blue, red, green, and yellow. Internetgod bless them for it. But the results are always disappointing with logos that end up looking like things that would sit best in kids’ toy packaging. One of the most perplexing things about the new icon is that, um, it has rabbit ears. Sure, we see rabbit ears and think TV. But didn’t we do away with rabbit ears right about the time when cell phones stopped being the size of Shaq’s shoe? If Google TV represents the future of TV, its icon represents the past. Inside granny’s TV sit nine 16:9 rectangles which allude to the new TV standard size and they do manage to convey that all kinds of things happen inside the TV.

The one thing that did make me smile about the logo, well, not the logo itself, but it’s application, is that when you roll over it at Google TV’s website the little boxes come alive and pop out of the box. Perhaps a clue that Google TV 3D is next!

Related articles

• Google TV: Hands On with Sony Blu Ray (ryanspoon.com)
• With Google TV, I May Never Leave The Sofa Again (techcrunch.com)
• The big three networks have all blocked Google TV (geek.com)

• Press Release
• Specifications

Have fun shooting Full HD video and 360 Videos with new-generation Bloggie™ Touch by Sony

‘All-in-one’ web sharing solution with camera, software and Personal Space online service

• Beautifully styled snap camera shoots Full HD 1920×1080 video and 360 Videos plus 12.8 megapixel stills
• Large, easy to use 7.6cm (3”) touch-screen and new interface
• Built-in USB and Bloggie™ software for easy uploads
• Quick, secure, private sharing of videos and photos with new Personal Space by Sony*

It’s brilliantly easy to grab great-looking Full HD video clips and still photos with new Bloggie™ Touch by Sony. A radical evolution from first-generation Bloggie™ models, the all-new HD snap camera boasts gorgeous new looks with its slim, rounded body and finely brushed aluminium finish. It’s also the perfect ‘all-in-one’ solution for shooting and sharing life’s special moments, wherever you are.

Available in a choice of vibrant pink, silver and black finishes, the Bloggie Touch is a stylish partner for day-trips, weekend breaks or fun-filled nights out.

The camera’s cool, clean lines are dominated by a big, bright 7.6cm (3”) LCD touchscreen that gives a brilliant view of your photos and video clips. A sleek new user interface simplifies intuitive ‘touch and flick’ enjoyment of your clips and pictures.

Operation is equally straightforward. Just point and shoot to catch the moment: you can even grab still images while video recording continues uninterrupted.

The sensitive Exmor™ CMOS Sensor captures sparkling Full HD videos and crisply-detailed still photos. Picture quality is enhanced further by the bright, high quality lens with F2.8 maximum aperture for clear, low noise images – even when you’re shooting indoors or on overcast days.

Bloggie™ Touch features a versatile autofocus lens with wide angle function. There’s also a new auto macro mode to focus sharply on objects as close as 10cm away. It’s ideal for snapping the menu of that unforgettable restaurant meal or a beautiful flower discovered on holiday.

Bloggie™ Touch also records amazing 360-degree panoramic videos and photos to capture everything that’s happening around you – just clip on the supplied lens adaptor. 360 Videos are now twice the resolution of previous-generation Bloggie™, and low-light video quality is also improved thanks to the Exmor™ CMOS sensor. In addition to fun 360 Video, Bloggie Touch features “free-style shooting” which allows you to capture movie both in landscape and portrait.

Despite its slim, compact size, Bloggie Touch allows nearly 4 hours HD movie shooting time (1280 x 720/30p mode) on its 8GB internal memory. (Continuous maximum shooting time: approx. 29 mins).

After shooting, it’s never been easier to share your favourite photos and clips on the web. Bloggie™ Touch connects instantly to any PC via its flip-out USB arm that also charges the camera’s battery. There are no fiddly cables or software CDs to worry about: hook up Bloggie™ Touch and built-in sharing software launches automatically.

Just drag and drop to upload your favourite moments without fuss to social networks and popular sites like YouTube, Facebook and Flickr. While you’re on the move, it’s easy to tag content with a new ‘Share-it-Later’ function for simple uploads when you’re next online.

Built-in Bloggie software also allows easy uploads to Personal Space, the brand-new online service by Sony for sharing content safely and securely. Once you’ve uploaded your pictures and clips from Bloggie™, just email invited members of your own Sharing Group with a link to your Personal Space. It’s easier and quicker than sending big file attachments via email. Viewing options are widened further by an HDMI port that connects Bloggie™ Touch to any HD television.

The new Bloggie™ Touch MHS-TS20K mobile HD snap camera by Sony is available from the beginning of November 2010.

* Personal Space service has already launched in the UK, with France and Germany scheduled to follow in October 2010.

Sony Bloggie MHS-TS20K specifications