Samsung partners with Yahoo! for TV internet service

by Nikki Sandison, Brand Republic 26-Aug-08, 11:45

LONDON - Consumer electronics giant Samsung has teamed up with Yahoo! to provide an integrated internet service in its television sets.

The service, called InfoLive, will offer news, finance and weather information from Yahoo!, directed from the remote control, according to The Times.

It will be rolled out on Series 7, 8 and 9 TVs in Canada, Australia and Singapore and in selected countries in Europe by the end of this year.

Samsung is expected to announce the partnership at the IFA industry fair in Germany this week.

InfoLive will allow users to watch a programme while a tickertape of news items, share prices or weather forecasts runs in tandem with it.

The content will be accessible via an integrated Ethernet port or via Samsung's wireless LAN adapter, which connects to the viewer's broadband service.

Separately, Samsung is also one of the partners for Yahoo! and Intel's Widget Channel, which will build Yahoo widgets into new TV chips to allow consumers to enjoy internet applications while watching their favourite programmes.

The Widget Channel will give viewers options such as watching videos, tracking their favourite stocks or sports teams, interacting with friends or staying up to date with news and information.