Yahoo was doing more than handing out Cold Stone ice cream (yummy, but huh?) in their CES tent… they also had some technology on display. The big news was the beta release of Yahoo Go 2.0 for many Java-capable cell phones (Windows Mobile not included) and providing free push email for Apple’s iPhone (announced over at Macworld).
But what caught my eye were the flat panel televisions over in the corner. The Yahoo football widget was on display on one TV. It’s extremely slick, allowing you to check out all sorts of scores, your fantasy stats, and live video PIP through the 10′ interface. Too bad they’re only offering it through Intel Viiv (a marketing term, not a technology) this season and excluding most PC owners. Hook me up next year, Yahoo?
I assumed the other flat panel would have Go TV — You know, the PC DVR software based on Yahoo’s acquisition of Meedio. Instead, they were demoing “My Channel” which they call a prototype at this point. While My Channel does include DVR functionality (guide, recording, live tv), the emphasis is on community and personalization (think Flickr, friend invites). Like Go TV, the software is PC-based and can be controlled via remote.
Will Yahoo continue to develop and support both Go TV and My Channel? I doubt it… and Go TV has already vanished from the web. But no official word on when we might see a public release of My Channel or the fate of Go TV… the Technical Yahoo I was chatting with is a little too familiar with ZNF and was holding back. ;)
I think it’s unknown how My Channel will come to market. The woman I spoke to suggested Yahoo might sell content to other providers bundled with a licensed API for the My Channel guide. Interesting tactic. Yahoo’s certainly not the only one trying to snap up content deals.
Pablo here with Yahoo! Connected Life group. The site was temporarily down for maintenance and is now back up and running. You can still download Yahoo! Go for TV at http://go.connect.yahoo.com/go/tv.