I was recently a guest on The Blerg podcast. It’s a podcast that focuses on the various technologies in the Android ecosystem, featuring famed developer of Action Launcher, +Chris Lacy.
During our chat, we talked all about Android TV, Google’s solution for streaming devices in your home. We also talked a bit about what we would love to see in the way of additions to Android TV in the future. I spent several years developing for Google TV and Android TV, it was certainly a unique experience from typical Android application development. At any rate, I wanted to share some of the highlights of our chat with you.
Highlights
[02:10]: We briefly mention some of the challenges developing for the older Google TV devices.
[05:00]: Discussing the differences between the Google TV remote and the Nexus Player remote.
[08:35]: Chris talks about his experience with the Sony TV.
[13:00]: My main use case for the Nexus Player is a Chromecast YouTube Party.
[15:25]: We talk about how much I loved the Chrome Browser on the old Google TV devices.
[17:15]: Chris starts discussing the “Recommendations” feature of the Android TV.
[19:00]: We talk about the things we like/dislike about the Android TV Launcher.
[24:50]: I talk a bit about Apple TV and the look-and-feel of the applications.
[29:40]: Learned about a new game that I can play on Android TV, Crossy Road.
[31:10]: Another feature we’d love, suggested/new apps to aid in discoverability.
[33:20]: Shout out to my favorite show, Murder She Wrote, which it watch endlessly on Netflix.
[37:10]: Our take on apps that are installed by default, like Netflix.
[39:10]: I talk about developing for Android TV, huge improvement over Google TV.
[41:10]: The one thing I’d love to see with Android TV is having it integrated with my cable provider.
Hope you enjoyed the episode!