After previously popping up in FCC filings, Sony teased its new smart TV dongle late Friday afternoon (hat tip to Engadget). The BRAVIA Smart Stick, as the device is officially called, can be plugged into a 2013 Bravia TV to teach it new tricks. The Bravia Stick is based on Google TV, but it apparently also comes with Sony’s own Bravia apps. From a Sony blog post:
“So, it’s Google TV, right? Not so fast! The BRAVIA Smart Stick’s user interface seamlessly integrates Google TV and Sony’s own BRAVIA apps, allowing viewers to stay in a single menu to launch any of their apps, including BRAVIA apps like the Internet Video Library.”
Interesting about this approach is that it may for the first time offer access to both Google TV and Hulu Plus through the same interface – something that wasn’t previously possible because Hulu Plus has been notably absent from Google TV ever since its launch in 2010.
The blog post published by Sony Friday only teased the product, and didn’t provide key information including availability and pricing. We might hear more about this when the product is going to be officially announced next Monday.
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