Yahoo! and Intel to extend world of widgets to TV

Stephen Withers
Thursday, 21 August 2008 08:44

Business IT - Technology

The widgets will run in any of four modes: cinematic (where the widget takes over the entire screen), sidebar (the widget gets a fixed area of the screen), docked (a subset of the widget's information is displayed at the bottom of the screen, along with similar snippets from other widgets), and background (the widget continues to run, but does not show up on the screen).

The user interface is designed to work with a TV remote control.

"By using the popular Yahoo! Widget Engine to power the Widget Channel, we intend to provide an opportunity for all developers and publishers to create new experiences that can reach millions of TV viewers globally," said Marco Boerries, Yahoo!'s executive vice president, connected life.

Companies that have already expressed interest in TV Widgets include Blockbuster, CBS Interactive, Disney-ABC Television, eBay, GE, Joost, MTV, Samsung, Showtime, Toshiba and Twitter. An early version of the Widget Channel development kit has already been provided to selected developers.

Do people want to grab information from the Internet while watching TV? It seems they do: Intel officials quote various statistics, such as 69 percent of 18 to 34 year olds use the Internet while watching TV, and 43 percent of 2008 Super Bowl viewers were also accessing the web via notebooks or cell phones.

"TV will fundamentally change how we talk about, imagine and experience the Internet," said Eric Kim, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's digital home group.

"No longer just a passive experience unless the viewer wants it that way, Intel and Yahoo! are proposing a way where the TV and Internet are as interactive, and seamless, as possible.