TV makers seek net gains as they take on Apple and Google
Television makers plan to use the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week to launch new internet services and blunt efforts by Google and Apple to dominate home entertainment.
Samsung, LG Electronics and set-top box supplier Cisco will unveil applications in a signal that they won't cede leadership to Google, Apple or other upstarts angling to get consumers to view internet programming via TV.
"All these companies are starting to break out on their own because you can move quicker and at the same time be different by not being beholden to development partners," said Richard Shim, senior analyst for DisplaySearch, a Santa Clara, California-based industry researcher.
More than half of TVs sold in 2014 will offer web service, DisplaySearch said.
Electronics makers consider television sets, which carry higher price tags than other devices and are the focal point of many consumers' living rooms, a key to boosting margins and fostering brand loyalty.
Controlling the first screen TV viewers see is part of that effort. (Bloomberg)
Irish Independent
