Vizio Announces Google TV-Powered Co-Star

Vizio Co-Star

Vizio recently announced the Co-Star. The Co-Star, previously known as the VAP430, is Vizio’s take on Google TV. Like all Google TV set top boxes, the Co-Star is intended to sit between your cable or satellite box and your TV. It sounds like Vizio has gone to some length to create a fresh, clean overlay UI and is looking to differentiate their offering with the inclusion of support for the OnLive cloud gaming service and a $99 price tag, half that of the NSZ GS7 that Sony announced earlier this week. The Co-Star does not come with a wireless OnLive controller, but it does come with a Bluetooth remote control that can offer gaming support in a pinch and also integrates IR blaster capabilities. Coming in at such an attractive price point, the Co-Star may well be the sort of device to spur renewed interest in Google TV.

The device itself offers support for 1080p video over HDMI, 802.11n wireless, Ethernet, a USB port for storage and peripherals, and ships with a Bluetooth remote that has a touchpad, full QWERTY keyboard with gaming buttons on its reverse side, and direct launch buttons for Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, and M-Go.

TechSpot

  • nerdshowandtell

    all next generation google tv

    all next generation google tv boxes will use ARM processors too,  which means less work to get native android apps working on them..  unlike first generation googletv that used intel atom processors..   also second generation has support for microsoft playready drm,  etc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNbKpUqkOso  perhaps we will see full support for cablecard devices,  etc..  im really hoping google releases sagetv as a server option with full connection into googletv boxes..  

  • I have to say, I was one of

    I have to say, I was one of those folks who fully expected SageTV to be part of Google TV when Google started talking about the 2.0 release, at least in some early form with more to come in future updates. That we are now 9+ months since the 2.0 release and seeing the Nexus Q getting released without any mention of Google TV updates really makes me think that any plans Google had for SageTV have been laid to rest.