LG and Philips’ (TP Vision) Smart TV alliance grows and at IFA 2012 new initiatives have been announced. Toshiba has joined and Qualcomm wants to supply chips for Smart TVs.

The Smart TV alliance
Today, most TV manufacturers support their own Smart TV platform. None of them have seen much success so Philips and LG started an initiative to create a unified Smart TV platform. This could prove to be a major benefit as it would require a lot less work for app developers.


The Smart TV alliance grows – but we have yet to see the first TV apps

At IFA 2012, new companies will announce commitment to the Smart TV alliance. Toshiba joins as a TV manufacturer. Sharp and Loewe have been mentioned before but is not specifically mentioned in the recent press release. Qualcomm and Mstar will provide chips for Smart TV manufacturers and the two companies Obigo and YuMe have also joined. Obigo is an app developer and YuMe provides video advertising services.

The first TV apps will be out later in 2012, and include Accuweather and Vilanoise. The Smart TV 2.0 SDK (software development kit) is also ready soon, providing developers with more advanced tools when making new TV apps. However, only 2013 Smart TV will support the new SDK 2.0 – not a huge surprise.


The Smart TV alliance grows – but we have yet to see the first TV apps

We hope to see something materialize soon. The alliance was actually announced at last year’s IFA 2011 show but the companies continue to place their bets on several horses. Most of the companies continue to support their own platform, and LG - for example - even has a flirt with Google TV.