When Google announced that the new Google Play Store would start to roll out in the coming days and weeks, we weren’t sure which devices would see it first. I think it’s safe to say that Google TV units are the lucky ones, as my Blu-Ray version updated the minute I powered it on and opened the Market. From a GTV perspective, not much has changed other than the new logo and some coloring. 

A couple of weeks ago, a root exploit for the Sony Google TV units was finally discovered, giving a bit of life to a platform that even after Honeycomb, has yet to attract a wide audience. When it comes to rooting though, it’s a constant battle between devs and manufacturers who think that security is of the utmost importance. And rightfully so, rooting an Android device can be a bit troublesome to those that have no idea why they are performing such a task. What I’m trying to get at, is the fact that a new update has begun to push to some units that is thought to be a security fix to patch the previously mentioned rooting method.

One of our readers received it this morning, however, my Blu-Ray unit is showing that it is up-to-date. Rumor has it that the update will pop up for everyone starting Monday and will prevent you from rolling back your recovery and OS to the vulnerable version that can be rooted.

So if you want root on your Sony Google TV unit, better do it now before it is patched forever.

More at GTV Hacker.

Cheers IgotGAME and BostonB!

Owners of a Sony Google TV unit, you have root! It has been quite the wait, but with 4 USB sticks and a bit of GTV know-how, you can prepare your device for custom kernels within minutes. Actually, it’s not that simple, but it is also not the most difficult root solution ever created. It does involve flashing your system back to a vulnerable software release which then hijacks the upgrade back to a current version to give you a new kernel and root access. That was a mouthful.

Here is the list of goodies you will have after completing:

• Modified flash plugin with random per box flash string for Content Provider Bypass.
• Crippled update feature to prevent box from receiving automatic updates.
• Completely RW system, cache, and rootfs partitions
• Full ADB Root
• Removed signature checks on kernel / init scripts / init binary
• A few other surprises.
• BETA: Enable NTFS Support for Sony Google TV devices

Worth it? Hit up the source for full instructions.

Via:  GTV Hacker

Cheers BostonB and Jigga_Z!

Over the weekend, the Google TV team mentioned via Facebook (of all places) that there were “big” announcements coming today. And then last night, they posted to their blog that a decent-sized Youtube update was in the works, which we are all assuming is the “big” announcement. And not that we are disappointed by this because the screenshots of it look fantastic, but “big” just seemed like it would be more. Anyways, jump past the break to see what you will soon enjoy. 

Facebook, such a great outlet for making Google announcements…errr. Anyways, the Google TV Facebook page has come forth to announce that there will be big Google TV announcements tomorrow. No other details were given and to tell you the truth, we haven’t a clue as to what we might see or hear. A new update? Something that has to do with this rumored Google home entertainment device? A new partner?

Via:  Facebook, The Verge

I fired up my Sony Blu-ray Google TV tonight and was surprised to see an update available. It’s a decent size at almost 260MB, bringing with it performance enhancements and the ability to play 3D discs.

If you are not prompted to update, head into System Settings>About>System updates and pull it manually.

Over the holiday weekend, I had a small budget to buy a new TV for my bedroom and maybe a cool something else to go with it. (Was thinking PS3?) I was budgeted to spend under $500 and I wasn’t really sure what I wanted but I know I definitely wanted a TV with WIFI and it had to be able to stream Netflix as well as some media off my network. To get the biggest bang for my buck, I was looking at a no frills 37” HDTV with a higher end BluRay player with wifi. As luck would have it, right when I thought I figured it all out, I saw a pile of Sony BluRay Players with Google TV built-in, for $199 each. I dropped the ‘SMART’ player player I had and headed to cash out. All in all, I spent right around $475 for the TV and the unit. Not bad for what has now basically become a smart TV with a WiFi  BluRay player.

When I got home, I unpacked and hooked up my new toys and it took me about ten minutes to set everything up and get it running. The longest part of the setup was the software update to Honeycomb for the player. It came with a qwerty remote, which I love, and the remote also doubles as a true universal remote. Aside from the full keyboard, the remote also has a touch sensitive cursor to fully navigate the screen like a mouse on a desktop. My only complaint with the remote is a lack of backlight. As far as the BluRay player goes, it runs great and I will leave it at that. It is a Sony, it is BluRay (their invention), it plays great. End of review for the BluRay portion.