Samsung Tips Massive Smart TV Attack In 2012 But Google TV Still MIA

2011 could well be the year of smart TV, with Samsung targeting 30- to 40-percent penetration of sets with streaming media, internet access and integration with mobile devices worldwide. According to Taipei Times, Samsung Taiwan president Moon Sung-hyun made the prediction during a Taiwan launch of a new range of LCD sets, over 90-percent of which were smart TV enabled; however, it's unclear if Samsung intends to push ahead with its own, home-grown smart TV platform, or look to a branded rival like Google TV

Earlier this year, Samsung was tipped to be looking at Google TV sets using ARM processors, rather than the x86 Intel chipsets powering the Logitech Revue and all-in-one Sony Google HDTV models that so far are the only options on the market. By opting for ARM chips power consumption could be reduced and, processor depending, higher graphics performance offered.

Google has already confirmed Samsung's interest in Google TV, though the expectation that the first sets would go on show at CES 2011 failed to pan out. In fact, the Google project as a whole has been relatively quiet since the end of 2010. Whether Samsung's aggressive sales expectations can change that – analysts expect more like 10-percent market penetration for smart TV – remains to be seen.