A few days ago Google unleashed Google TV upon the world, and got a lot of people talking. Not everyone has been impressed initially, as Google is certainly not the first company to blend television and the web. However, having been present during the keynote presentation in which Google TV was introduced, I can tell you, there was a lot of excitement in the room (despite Google’s connectivity problems during the demonstration).

Google rival Yahoo, however, wanted to take the time to remind everyone that they have some TV-related offerings of their own, which have not received nearly the amount of attention that Google’s has. The company sent us an email outlining its "milestones and leadership" for Yahoo Connected TV.

"Yahoo! has a solid leadership position and was one of the first major companies to introduce a TV Widget experience," the company tells WebProNews. "Yahoo! Connected TV is designed to allow users to interact with their favorite Internet content while watching TV, all with a simple TV remote – no keyboard, mouse, or additional work is required. Yahoo! Connected TV is simply on demand movies, TV shows and Web content developed for how consumers use their TVs."

Some points the company makes:

– This includes distribution partnerships with 5 of the top 10 TV manufacturers worldwide including Sony, Samsung, LG, VIZIO and HiSense.

– Yahoo! announced a global channel of silicon and integration partners and works on all major consumer electronic device chip architectures worldwide; this will enable Yahoo! to power a new CE devices including set top boxes, media players, Blu-Ray players, DVDs, DVRs and other devices.

– Yahoo! has a robust community of 7,000+ registered TV Widget developers.

– Yahoo! provides consumers with thousands of content sources and Internet experiences they know and love – specifically created for TV.

"Yahoo! will aggressively lead and grow our audience by expanding into new devices, embarking on new OEM partnerships, and dramatically expanding our geographic reach," the company says in the email.

Here are some of the milestones Yahoo shared with regards to Connected TV:

– Yahoo announced the commercial release of the Yahoo! Connected TV platform with Samsung, LG, Sony and VIZIO in January 2009 at the U.S. Consumer Electronics Show.

– The first televisions with Yahoo! Connected TV became available in March of 2009.

– Yahoo! Connected TV has shipped on approximately 3 million TVs in 16 countries across North America, Europe and Latin America. Yahoo! expects millions of additional OEM TVs and other CE devices to ship with Yahoo! in 2010 and 2011.

– Yahoo! Connected TV works on all major consumer electronic device chip architectures worldwide, including MIPS Technologies, ARM and Intel.  This means it will become available globally in additional TVs and consumer electronic devices such as Blu-Ray players, media players and set-top boxes.  ViewSonic announced a media player running Yahoo! Connected TV.

– There are 50+ TV Widgets available today, enabling consumers access to over 50,000 movie and TV shows, games, shopping, social networking and the ability to create their own personal Internet channel from thousands of content sources.  We expect over 150 more TV Widgets to debut by end of year, with many offering full access to the media and personalization Internet users expect.  

– TV Widgets are monetized today through transactions, subscriptions, and advertising  Yahoo! is currently focused on growing a global audience of millions of users, and plans to offer Yahoo monetization services to developers in the near future.

– Yahoo!’s Widget Development Kit(WDK) became publicly available in January of 2010 .  There are now more than 7,000 registered developers.

Ronald Jacoby, Chief Architect, Yahoo Connected TV offered the following statement: "Consumers love television, and Yahoo! is enhancing the TV viewing experience by adding high quality, personally-relevant Internet content across devices from the world’s largest consumer electronics manufacturers. Yahoo! is leading, innovating and delivering amazing consumer experiences, and there is no doubt in my mind that the next phase of the Internet revolution will be televised."

In other Yahoo news, the company just announced a new arrangement with Nokia, which will see the two companies providing customers with e-mail, instant messaging and maps and navigation services.