Google TV from Sony hits UK in July

Sony takes on Apple with Google internet TV player

Google TV has been launched in the UK on a Sony device, with product to hit the channel in July.

Sony said the NSZ-GS7 internet player with Google TV, first seen in January at CES Las Vegas, can now be pre-ordered online in the UK, with shipments arriving on 16 July. Originally, the device was not expected here until September.

Gildas Pelliet, European head of marketing at Sony, said the £200 device expands the reach of Android as well as Sony's relationship with Google.

"Entertainment content is available through so many channels and sites, and Google TV helps consumers easily find what they want to watch, listen to or play with the freedom of the internet and using the familiar Chrome browser," he said.

Sony is the first manufacturer to launch Google TV kit outside the US, with the UK first in line, to be followed later by Canada, Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Brazil and Mexico.

According to Sony, it is all about offering "the freedom of the web on the big screen". Users can access YouTube and other file-sharing sites online and watch the streamed media on their TV. It can also be used via smartphone.

However, not all media producers have been enthusiastic about the new device, believing it to be just one more technology that normalises the infringement of copyright for end consumers. According to the BBC, several TV networks in the US have blocked the service.

A more expensive Blu-ray version is due out later in the year from Sony and expected to cost about £300.

Apple's TV box is already available in the UK, for about £99.