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Vizio Google TV first hands-on!

Vizio Google TV first hands-on!

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Vizio is at CES with a new Google TV-based smart TV and a pair of QWERTY remotes — including a Bluetooth model with a touchpad.

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vizio google tv
vizio google tv

Vizio's here at CES 2012 with its riff on Google TV — and it's something. The company has totally skinned Google's smart TV OS with a skin just like the one on its tablets, and it's built in a layer of DLNA-based content sharing services. (Think AirPlay, but compatible with anything DLNA and made smoother when sharing from Vizio tablets and PCs to the new smart TV.) There's still Android Market, of course, and Vizio's staying up to date with the platform as it develops — they told me they talk to Google "every day."

Vizio's also got a new Bluetooth Google TV remote with a touchpad and dedicated Netflix, Amazon, and Vudu buttons on the front, and a QWERTY keyboard on the back. There's also a standard IR smart TV remote with a QWERTY on the back, but no touchpad — it's a little thinner than the chunky Bluetooth model. Remotes are quickly becoming an important sub-story at CES as the smart TV market heats up, and Vizio's are some of the most comfortable we've used so far.

Vizio says the TV will come out in the summer, but there's no pricing yet.

Vizio Google TV first hands-on photos!

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