Frankly My Dear, I Don't Give a Widget
Andy Tarczon, Founding Partner
June 22, 2009
I keep hearing the word “widget” in my conversations with clients and colleagues. Sure, widgets are all the rage, but what the heck does the word mean? Is it something for the iphone? For the TV? Do I watch it? Is it a program or just some FLOC (few lines of code)?
Depends on who you ask, but it seems everyone is talking about these widget things. Apple supports them for iphone (now calling them apps), Broadcom and Chumby signed an agreement, and Yahoo has even built the Widget Channel application framework.
Perhaps the confusion is being taken from the context of the word. When talking about widgets, I tend to delineate the technology from the applications being enabled. What do I mean? Think about “listening to the radio” or “watching television.” In each case, the words have dual meaning. There are the physical devices (a box or a screen) and the application being delivered to the device (i.e., content and programming).
Such is the case with a widget. There are numerous platforms being enabled – from phones to TVs to game consoles and internet set-top boxes - and then there are the applications themselves – from sports to weather to Netflix to a host of other applications still being imagined.
So is there a distinction between all of these widgets? Since we lump all of these little downloadable applications under the same name, surely they interact with one another across the platforms. Oh, wait, you mean they don’t? They only work with one platform? So widget is another nebulous industry term ultimately stuck on one specific device? And if I pay for a cool widget in one place, I may have to buy it in another? Hmmm…
Yesterday, ARM and LG announced they would be working together to deliver widgets to the TV. I sat wondering why this should matter. As a stand-alone announcement, it really doesn’t. It does, however, point to the trend that widgets are merely becoming a checkbox in a TV or connected device offering along with features such as stereo, HDMI, and a remote control. It points to something we’ve been talking about for years - a general acceptance that CE devices will leverage the power of the Internet to enhance the user experience.
A FINAL NOTE: For those considering offering widgets for the video experience, some notes on which applications make the most sense. Intel recently asked TDG to examine consumer interest around for a number of applications surrounding Yahoo's Widget Channel framework and the new CE3100 chip. They have allowed us to share some of the results:
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