March 14, 2011 02:00 am EDT

Switched On: A screen too far

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

This January, Vizio became the second major TV manufacturer to announce its support for Google TV at CES 2011. Samsung and LG also rallied behind the idea of "smart TV," with the former announcing results of a "Free the TV" competition designed to encourage television app development. After years of serving mostly as a display for other development platforms such as video game consoles and TiVo, it seems the TV is ready to serve as a connected platform of its own, not wholly unlike the PC and smartphone.

However, there are two things standing in the way of the television as a platform to lead interactivity in the home -- a lack of access to the core video assets, and the separation of user interface from display.

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Switched On: A screen too far originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Mar 2011 22:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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