We’re giving away 10,000 Google TV devices. To you.

October 26, 2010


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One of the things that makes Google TV different is that it has an Internet browser built-in so users have full access to the entire web on their television screens. Over the past few months, we’ve had many developers come to us seeking guidance on how to make their existing websites even better for the 10-foot TV experience. Many have even come to us with completely new designs for their existing websites.

For developers, building websites for TV is a new opportunity for creativity and provides a distribution channel to reach users in a new way. For users, better and more interesting websites mean that the overall Google TV experience gets even better. We know that developers must be at the heart of our ecosystem, building cool experiences for audiences to watch and enjoy, and we want to encourage a new generation of TV developers to come forward. Which is why, over the next few weeks, we are planning to give away 10,000 Google TV devices to help developers start building for TV.

This morning, we gave away more than 3,000 Google TV devices to attendees of the Adobe MAX conference. Additionally, we’ll be reaching out to thousands of web developers in the Google Code community to offer them a free device. Finally, if you are a professional web developer who wants to help make the Google TV experience even better and you don’t happen to fall into one of those two groups, please submit an entry to our Google TV Web Developer Promotion and include a short summary about the type of interesting website your company would like to create or optimize for Google TV. We’re planning to select 2,500 winners from those entries to receive a free Google TV device.

For a bit of inspiration, check out some of the latest Spotlight sites that have just launched on Google TV. A few of our favorites include Net-A-Porter, which lets you watch runway videos and shop for high fashion; Meegenius, a place where you can read and customize children’s books; TuneIn, a personal radio for your TV; and The Onion, which always gives us a good laugh.

To get started building websites for Google TV, we’ve provided new documentation and a Google TV Web forum to help developers better engage in the process. We’re excited to see what you all come up with. Happy coding!

Update on 10/27: To clarify, this giveaway is only for U.S based developers. We hope to make Google TV available in other markets soon.

By Amanda Surya, Google TV Developer Relations Team