From the 2011 AnDevCon II conference

1. Google TV:
Thoughts From
Left Field
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2. Google TV Rollout
● Rolling Out Your App
– Initially: Nothing
● Do not enable Google TV support until you have at
least tested it in the emulator
● One chance to make a first impression
– Next Tier: Not Completely Stupid
● App is usable if not ideally suited for the form factor
– Ultimate: Optimized
Copyright © 2011 CommonsWare, LLC

3. Google TV Rollout
● Example: Video Player
– Nothing: Relies on swiping
– Not Completely Stupid
● Focus works, can navigate with D-pad
– Optimized
● Eliminate on-screen controls for play, pause, etc.; use
remote instead
● Tip: get rid of extraneous focusable widgets
Copyright © 2011 CommonsWare, LLC

4. Google TV Business Models
● App-Centric
– TV app as premium offering
– Cable provider partnerships
● Licensing
● Sponsorships
● Provider-supplied ads/sponsors
– Show-related apps
● Video for those not able to get niche channel
● Socializing around the show, real-time
Copyright © 2011 CommonsWare, LLC

5. Google TV Business Models
● Other Services
– TV UX Expert
● Lots of phone UX experts, fewer tablet UX experts,
negligible experts for TV
– TV Firmware Expert
● Many smaller manufacturers may want to use the
Google TV concepts in their set-top boxes and TVs
● Learn the ropes via firmware mods and kin
Copyright © 2011 CommonsWare, LLC

6. Features and Niches
● Likely Popular Features
– Sync: share content, context with other Android
devices
– Throw: seamless real-time sync
● Likely Popular Niches
– Anything video-related (duh!)
– Edutainment
● Not just for children anymore!
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7. Emulator
● Step #1: Get a Nice CPU
– Intel with VT extensions (e.g., Core i7)
– AMD with SVM extensions
● Step #2: Get Linux
– No current support for Windows, OS X
● Step #3: Get KVM
– Virtualization engine, akin to VirtualBox, Xen
Copyright © 2011 CommonsWare, LLC

8. Emulator
● Step #4: Get Android SDK and Tools
– Google TV add-on available from SDK Manager
– Use R15 Android Developer Tools!
● Step #5: Create an AVD
– 720p or 1080p
● Live Linux USB Key
Copyright © 2011 CommonsWare, LLC

9. Debugging on Real Hardware
● Configure Google TV Box
– Only accepts debugger connections from 1 IP
● adb connect <ipaddr>
– Adds IP-based connection
– Google TV box will show up in DDMS
– Can use as if locally attached
– Helpful if the TV is somewhere nearby...
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