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Beware Apple TV: Now Samsung ponders Android-powered TVs as Google TV hits US this Fall


Samsung seems to be emerging as a leading Apple competitor, with its A4-style processor-powered Galaxy smartphone and tablet devices — now news it intends introducing an Android OS-powered range of television sets, even as Apple seems to be foundering slightly with its Apple TV “hobby“.

A Bloomberg report tells us Samsung is considering putting Android inside some TV sets, with Yoon Boo Keun, head of Samsung’s TV business, telling South Korean reporters, “we will have to see, but we are reviewing [the use of Android].”

The move to embrace Android isn’t unusual for Samsung. Both the aformentioned Galaxy products field Google’s OS. The Galaxy Tab, for example, is being tarted about as a challenger for Apple’s iPad.

The move matches an increasing focus on television, as consumer electronics and tech giants consider the front room screen as a new business opportunity.

This market potential is presently hampered by the TV content producers, who will fight tooth and nail to ensure whatever the future of television may be, producers and people working in television continue to get paid.

UPDATE: BGR/Reuters U.K. is reporting that Google’s CEO, Eric Schmidt, has stated that his company’s Google TV will debut in the U.S. “this autumn.” Speaking at IFA in Berlin, Schmidt told journalists, “we will work with content providers but it is very unlikely that we will get into actual content production.” The CEO said the new TV-based service would allow for full internet browsing and be available to a variety of electronic manufacturers for use.

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