There has been a lot of noise (all good) and excitement about the Intel/Yahoo! TV widget platform. Depending on what numbers you look at (research firm DisplaySearch has most of them), what types of TV you look at (LCD vs Plasma) and if you look at unit sales or gross revenue, the “Top” TV manufacturers are:

• Top 5 LCD: Samsung, Sony, LG Electronics, Sharp and Vizio
• Top 4 Plasma: Panasonic, Vizio, Samsung, LG and Sanyo

That said, the following television manufacturers have announce plans to support the Intel/Yahoo! TV Widget platform:

• Samsung:  “Internet@TV – Content Service” on select 2009 HDTV models via built-in Ethernet or optional Wi-Fi USB dongle.
• LG: “NetCast Entertainment Access” on 47- and 42-inch LH50 LCD models and 60- and 50-inch PS80 plasma models via built-in Ethernet
• Sony: “Bravia Internet Widgets” on XBR9 and Z-series Bravia LCDs with built-in Ethernet (adapter)
• Vizio: “Connected HDTV” on VF551XVT LCD and other high-end LCDs with 802.11n Wi-Fi
• Toshiba: “Widget Channel Framework” on its Regza range of TVs

Panasonic is doing TV widgets in Europe but not the Yahoo platform.  Based on the numbers and facts, it looks like your next TV will probably be widget-enabled, courtesy of Yahoo!

Every once in a while it is good to remind clients that there is no “one size fits them all” widget. In fact, not only are there different general widget platforms, but each platform has its own widget types and technologies. There are generally four common types of widget platforms. Two established and two emerging platforms. These are:

• Desktop Widgets: These widgets run on your computer desktop
• Web Widgets: These widgets run on a web page, blog or social network
• Mobile Widgets: These widgets run on your mobile phone
• TV Widgets: These widgets run on your TV set

Web widgets are either universal (run on most web pages) or platform-specific (run within a specific web environment such as iGoogle, widgetbox or Netvibes). Web widgets are generally written in Adobe Flash or Javascript/HTML. Some platform-specific widgets also have an XML component.

Desktop widgets usually run on a specific widget platform. These platforms are either OS platform-specific (Windows Vista, Macintosh OS, i.e.) or use a widget engine (such as Yahoo Widgets!, Opera, i.e.).  As I mentioned, the “widget engine” can be part of the operating system (Vista, Mac) or run on multiple operating systems. Third party widget engines that run on multiple platforms (Yahoo Widgets!, Opera) must be downloaded and installed by the end-user, which an be a barrier to distribution.  You can also have “native” Windows or Macintosh widgets, which are essentially stand alone applications than run on specific operating systems.  These “native” widgets, though rare, are usually written to address operating systems than do not come with a built-in widget platform (Windows XP).

Mobile Widgets, as the name implies, run on mobile phones (primarily the iPhone, Blackberry, Windows Mobile devices and the Nokia S60). Several mobile platforms are available. Yahoo Mobile widget platform runs on the iPhone, Windows Mobile devices and the Nokia S60 phone! Yahoo is one of few companies to support third-party mobile widget. Widgets are also available on Opera’s Mobile 9.5 platform which runs on Windows Mobile, Nokia S60, and UIQ. Additionally, MOTODEV Studio for WebUI from Motorola allows you to deploy widgets on Motorola’s open mobile Linux platform using Java ME, UIQ and Native Linux.

TV Widgets represent a emerging new platform recently announced by Yahoo! and Intel. Yahoo is currently the only platform with plans to support TV widgets on certain HDTV models from Samsung, Vizio, LG Electronics, and Sony. TV widgets will live at the bottom of your TV screen and will be turned on or off with one click of the button! Initial widgets will include the obvious news, weather, stocks, sports and photos (Flickr).

For a complete, more comprehensive list of widget platforms visit: http://go.metablocks.com/widget-platforms

Every once in a while we get a request for a Yahoo! Widget. That is about to change with Yahoo! recent announcement with Intel about brining web widgets to digital television sets!

Yahoo! Widgets – formerly known as Konfabulator – is a popular widget engine available for Windows and the MacOS. What makes the Yahoo! Widget platform interest to most clients is its support for Windows XP (Windows Vista Sidebar widgets do not run on Windows XP). 

Yahoo! Widgets 4.5 Packed with New Features
Last year, Yahoo release Yahoo! Widgets 4.5 which added such power features as a SQLite database and canvas support. Yahoo also added a new security model, video support, and full DOM support. The core Yahoo! widget engine continues to use a javascript runtime combined with an XML engine to power widgets, which can now be built in Javascript, HTML (including support for embedded HTML using the WebKit) and Adobe Flash!

Yahoo TV Widgets are Coming!
You can expect a renewed interest in Yahoo widgets since their much talked about TV Widgets announcement. The good news is that Yahoo! TV Widgets will also powered by the same Yahoo! Widget Engine, which has now been re-engineered specifically for consumer electronics devices such as HDTVs. As a widget developer, we have already started on the design our first Yahoo! TV widget project and expect we’ll be busy building TV widgets this year as a growing number of content publishers and brands explore interesting tie-ins between TV widgets, advertising, TV programming and the web.

Here is a quick roundup of a couple of recent interesting widget news and trends:

• MySpace To Launch Widget for TV
  In my previous widget news roundup I mentioned that Yahoo! and Intel were brining widgets to TV. This week MySpace announced plans to launch MySpace Widget for TV, a mini version of their social networking site that consumers access from the televisions.
• Content Providers Embrace TV Widgets
  Since the TV widgets CES announcement by Yahoo!! and Intel, dozens of media and content outlets have heralded the advent of TV widgets and the next best thing to sliced bread! ABC says they’ll enrich shows and other content providers such as CBS, NYT, Showtime and USATODAY are behind it. Electronics manufacturers including Samsung, Vizio, LG Electronics, Sony, and others will support Yahoo! driven standard.
• Widget Politics II
  In last week’s round up, I mentioned that Arnold Schwarzenegger, California’s Governor, is taking to widgets and social media to get the state budget passed. The political widget trends continues with widgets like the Ask your Lawmaker widget,  a project of the Capitol News Connection, and host of others are making their way to the web.