• Silicon Alley Insider, Monday, August 18, 2008 11:15 AM

Even before it hits mobile phones, Google is exploring the possibility of putting Android on cable set-top boxes. According to VentureBeat Google wants Android to become a "universal operating system that will span set-top boxes for televisions, mp3 players and other communication and media devices and services."

Silicon Alley Insider says it hears similar news from inside Google, but writer Dan Frommer doesn't seem to think that Android-powered TVs are such a good idea "because there aren't really many mainstream applications that would draw huge demand on both your cell phone and your television." YouTube might, so too might business news and weather, but not much else. And if you have these apps on your cell phone, why do you need them on your TV?

Also, Frommer makes the point that cable companies won't exactly be falling over themselves to sign up for having Android run their set-top boxes. Why would they need a Google OS? Will Android widgets make people watch more TV? Probably not, says Frommer.

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