YouTube has released a new app for Android powered devices which pairs with Google TV on the same wireless network. This second screen experience will allow users seamlessly move videos from their tablets or mobiles onto a big screen TV in their living room.
Mario Queiroz, Google product VP, showcased the app for Fast Company and said, “There is a lot of talk in the industry about the second screen, but we believe it’s important that we’re using a concept like that to solve a real user problem as opposed to having another feature, just so we can check a box.”
YouTube currently gets 800 million visitors a month and Google believes it can use the lure of four billion hours of video that these users watch to get into their living rooms. Competitors like Microsoft and Apple have tried similar methods to get into the TV screens of users but have failed. However, Google is betting that its updated app that allows automatic pairing of Android devices and Google TV and gives users’ control of YouTube through an Android device will help it capture the market.
Queiroz explains that, “There is a lot of talk in the industry about the second screen, but we believe it’s important that we’re using a concept like that to solve a real user problem as opposed to having another feature, just so we can check a box. The second screen makes it better, as opposed to just being another feature.”
Google TV failed to make any inroads because it was too complicated to use. Google has streamlined the pairing process this time around so that users are more inclined to use the app. Queiroz explains that, “You don’t have to do anything–the app is automatically paired with your Google TV.” He goes on to explain how the mobile or tablet becomes the middle man between user and the TV by saying that, “If my daughter walks into the room and she has her phone, she’s also automatically paired on YouTube, so she can pick a video, add it to the queue, and then we are all choosing videos. We don’t have to fight over the remote.”
Another plus point for Google is that fact that for right now the YouTube app comes preloaded with Android phones only. This may be another selling point for the Google ecosystem and one that users may respond well to.
Source: Fast Company
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