Sony builds standalone Google TV box

With Logitech pulling the plug on its Google TV set-top last fall, Sony (NYSE: SNE) will help Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) keep a standalone set-top dedicated to its interactive TV platform on the market by introducing a Network Media Player and Blu-ray Disc player that offers viewers access to the service.

Sony hasn't said how much it will charge for the products, which it unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show on Monday. Sony was the first TV manufacturer to build a connected TV that integrates the Google TV platform in 2010. The move will allow viewers who  haven't purchased a connected TV to surf Web video content by linking the Network Media Player or Blu-ray player to their TV via an HDMI connection.

The remote controls that power the devices contain microphones and motion sensors, which will allow viewers to navigate content by using voice commands and motion controls. That will allow Sony and Google to offer viewers similar features to those available through Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) Xbox 360 with Kinect. Samsung (OTC: SSNLF.PK), LG (NYSE: LGL) and Lenovo (OTC: LNVGY.PK) also unveiled new TVs at CES that allow viewers to navigate through voice and motion controls.

For more:
- see the Sony news release

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