Guide to UI Design for Google TV: How Google TV Apps will introduce a whole new world of HTML5 and AJAX apps for TV
I just kept thinking today, of how Google TV will actually revolutionize the TV market and came to the conclusion, that this will end up in something similar to what we are seeing happening on the iPhone.
I think we will see a whole new bunch of AJAX geekiness come together with Google TV and their concept of enhancing UI with Apps for TV.
Have a look at: http://www.google.com/tv/spotlight.html just to see a few concepts, of what we can expect to come up next.
I thought of how UI design for a TV might have to look like and came up with these few principals:
1. TV UI Design Principal No.1: Apps will have to split UI and control: Control may reside on a mobile device with touchscreen or computer, UI will be the television screen
2. TV UI Design Principal No.2: The main screen being the Television, Apps will have much "screen real estate", while having to provide much bigger buttons, than websites on a computer, cause TV screens are normally far away. (yeah I see Web 2.0 Buttons coming to the TV next you ;)
This means, that we will see many Apps, that are more similar to how they look on an iPad today, than on the iPhone.
3. TV UI Design Principal No.3: Rich remote controls: I think interacting with the TV, will be much similar to how you use the iTunes remote App, the remote control being a fully fledged web app too, with possibilities to search, select and switch TV programs as well as bring parts of the UI to the remote control itsself.
In fact the TV will be like the extended arm of your mobile device.
Use your Facebook app, as long as you are not in front of the TV. As soon as you get near your TV, connect to it and see the whole navigation happen on your TV, while still controlling the Facebook app on your phone. I really do like that thought!
4. The API
I think, there will be some SDK necessary, for bringing up some important features into what the browser is lacking right now. Especially access to the TV and Audio device!
Wouldn't be surprised to see this integrated in Google Tv's version of "Webkit" ?! already.
Hopefully Google will choose to make Google TV an open platform, like they did with Android!
UPDATE: so Google TV is actually based on Android according to this article http://phandroid.com/2010/10/21/google-tv-root-first-signs-possibilities/ and the video insoide.
So while I am still waiting and am curious of how this device will really be, I recommend to you developers out there, to warm up your fingers and get ready to start doing some great stuff with Google TV!