Intel and Yahoo are partnering on a hardware and software platform that will bring widgets to TV.

Intel and Yahoo have partnered in the development of a hardware and software platform designed to meld television and the Internet.

 

TV sets, cable set-top boxes and optical media players built with special Intel processors and supporting a Yahoo software framework will allow people to integrate lightweight "widget" applications into their viewing experience.

 

Just like on a PC today, these widgets will complement the TV experience with online functionality, such as obtaining information from the Web, interacting with friends and buying products from online stores, Intel and Yahoo said Wednesday.

 

During a demonstration of the technology at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, pressing a button on a remote control produced a toolbar with widgets at the bottom of a TV screen; the widgets could then be activated with the remote.

 

Yahoo will generate revenue through advertising on the service, Yahoo Vice President Patrick Barry said at IDF.

 

The Yahoo TV application framework is called the Widget Channel and is designed for consumer electronics devices built with the accompanying Intel system-on-a-chip (SoC) media processors, such as the CE 3100, formerly called Canmore. Based on x86 architecture, the chips enable high-resolution imaging and broadcast TV for consumer electronics devices.

 

Widget Channel developers will be able to create TV applications using languages like Javascript, XML, HTML and Flash.

 

Intel and Yahoo plan to make a Widget Channel development kit available to developers, including TV and other CE device makers, advertisers and publishers. TV viewers will get access to a widget gallery where they can choose the applications they want.

 

Among the companies planning to develop and deploy widgets are Blockbuster, CBS Interactive, Disney-ABC Television Group, eBay, GE, MTV, Samsung Electronics, Showtime and Toshiba.