• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, May 7, 2012

Stateside, LG Electronics is reportedly planning to launch Internet-enabled TV based on Google's platform before the end of the month.

“The move reflects an aggressive push by the duo to defend against a potential threat from Apple Inc, which reshaped the handset market with its iPhone smartphone and is widely expected to unveil a full-fledged TV product later this year or early next year,” Reuters reports.

As 9To5Google reminds us: “Google TV is a Google-branded smart TV platform that integrates the Android operating system and Chrome browser to create an interactive television user-interface that is overlaid onto existing internet television and WebTV.”

Late last year, “Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt … predicted that most TVs sold by summer 2012 will come with Google TV on board,” recalls ComputerWorld.

“But, with Google TV’s lukewarm welcome by consumers, and a non-existent Apple television set grabbing headlines, will LG fare better than Google’s first round of partners?” VentureBeat asks.

Indeed, “Since launching in 2010, Google TV has struggled to capture a big audience in the Smart TV business,” USAToday remarks. “The company pushed out a massive update last October, and unveiled partnerships with TV makers LG and Vizio during January's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.”

As for LG, “Despite already having its own ‘smart TV’ platform, [the world’s No. 2 TV maker] is clearly hoping the Google TV technology will be a way to stand out from its peers,” ZDNet writes.

“Features of Google TV include being able to use a smartphone as a remote control, searching the Internet on the TV while watching a show, and creating a home page with app launch icons and TV channels,” CNet notes.

Yet, regarding the new TVs, Gizmodo writes: “Whether they can save Google's TV dream, well, that's anyone's guess.”