Google's Android operating system is about to start showing up in a whole slew of consumer electronic devices other than cell phones, according to recent reports.
The Web site Android Guys reported late last week that Motorola is building a TV set-top box for Japanese telephone and broadband service provider KDDI. The new device is expected to be ready in time for the Japan's largest electronics show, CEATEC, which will be held in October.
The set-top box called "au Box" will allow users to take their music and video content with them on the go. The box lets users play or rip a CD and either store the music or transfer it to a mobile handset or portable media player via a USB cable, Android Guys reported. The music files can then be played by the device through the integrated stereo speakers.
The set-top box also allows users to upload video to the device and then transfer it to a mobile device. And the device also plays DVDs.
Android, which is an open source operating system, was originally designed by Google for mobile phones. But there has increasingly been more talk of the software being used in other devices like netbooks, as well as on set-top boxes, TVs, voice over IP phones, digital picture frames and even karaoke machines.
The Open Embedded Software Foundation (OESF), which consists of several Japanese companies that plan to use Android in embedded devices, is trying to strum up support for using the software on non-phone devices. ARM, KDDI, Japan Cable Laboratories, Alpine Electronics and Fujitsu Software technologies are among the members. These companies say they expect to show off more Android-powered devices at CEATEC in the fall.
This article was first published as a blog post on CNET News.
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