Oregan launches Onyx Widgetry store at CES 2010

LAS VEGAS, USA — As part of its strategy to deliver a wide variety of rich Internet entertainment to mainstream living room devices, Oregan Networks, a leading developer of Internet TV technologies, has launched its applications store for connected TVs and hybrid STBs, branded as Onyx Widgetry.

The store will enable consumers to select and instantly download services and applications on their televisions. The primary purpose of the Onyx Widgetry store is to offer fresh content for user-selected download, increasing the number of entertainment options. Once downloaded, some of these applications will serve as entry points to paid content, such as movies and subscription TV services.

At CES 2010, Oregan is demonstrating the beta version of the Onyx Widgetry store, emphasising ease of use and speed of download. The company is working with a number of leading global TV manufacturers who see the ability to offer fresh content as the key value proposition for next generation TVs. In the UK, Oregan’s widget store will be offered to consumers in March 2010, with subsequent launch plans across Europe, USA and Latin America.

Along with default widgets, such as Twitter, weather, sports, and news, created by Oregan, which come pre-installed with Onyx, there will be two additional sources for new applications:

• Widgets created by TV brands and retailers that utilise Onyx on connected TVs;
• Widgets created by Content Service partners and the open web development community, based on the W3C Widget standard. Oregan will offer an SDK to developers through its website in March 2010, which will allow for quick submission of new widget applications.

Onyx Widgetry will offer a mix of free and paid widgets, with pricing expected to vary depending on the application and service business model. Developers will be able to join a developer network for a small fee, to benefit from guidelines and technical support.