Google said Friday that it is preparing to push its "Honeycomb" update to Google TV devices, pairing it with apps from the Android Market and improved interfaces.

Google said Friday that it is preparing to push its "Honeycomb" update to Google TV devices, pairing it with apps from the Android Market and improved interfaces.

Android 3.1 will be pushed to Sony-branded Google TVs on Oct. 30, with the Logitech Revue receiving it shortly thereafter, Google said.

Instead of trying to develop an experience that can replace a user's set-top box, Google is attempting to update by emphasizing quick access to both online and offline content. A year ago, Google took heat when consumers visited a network site like ABC.com and , leading to a barrage of negative publicity.

For the update, Google will aggregate the available content that a consumer (and Google TV) has available to it under a new "Movie and TV" app, which organizes currently playing content inside a new interface. That app will present content, like a movie, that's currently available for viewing on network television, along with a progress bar to indicate how much has already aired.

But Google will also display movies from Netflix and Amazon's streaming service, YouTube, and "many other sites" as an alternative, Google said. Google's current Google TV iteration already does this, but the new version provides a simpler, more elegant format, a Google spokesman said.

In addition, the Google TV home screen has now been reduced to a bar at the lower part of the screen.

"Given so much choice, we're committed to delivering the best way to discover and engage with the high-quality entertainment on your television, whether that comes from your cable or satellite provider (DISH, Comcast, DIRECTV, etc.) or from the Web (YouTube, Netflix, and thousands more)," Mario Queiroz, vice president of product management for Google TV, and Vincent Dureau, director of engineering, write in a jointly authored blog post. "The initial version of Google TV wasn't perfect, but launching it gave us the opportunity to learn. These are still early days, and we're working hard to move forward with each update."

YouTube remains the most popular application by far on Google TV, and an additional revision tweaks the current, updated interface to allow users to "discover" more channels. According to reports, YouTube plans to push "channels (such as a "surfing channel" made up of YouTube surfing videos).

The Google TV spokesman declined to confirm those reports, but did state that the top five "channels" on YouTube received as many viewers as the top five cable networks. Google said that it has improved the way that viewers can take a search (for "funny cat" videos, for example) and turn that into a channel with one video streaming into the next via Google TV's feature.

While customers have looked forward to apps from the Android Market on their Google TV, the Google TV spokesman downplayed that slightly, noting that Google will be cutting out many that require a touch screen or GPS to avoid a "lousy customer experience." Instead, TV-centric apps will be highlighted, with a total of 50 or so actually optimized for Google TV, he said. Many more will be available.

Google also plans to include a "pivot from play" feature that will allow users to preview other content, such as a YouTube video, without leaving the current "screen" of content they're viewing.

In addition, Google's Chrome browser for Google TV and the way it displays photos will also be improved.

Google's device partners endorsed the update. "The new version of Google TV for Logitech Revue addresses users' feedback to improve the overall experience and we're very excited about the results. Improvements include access to the Android Market, a more simple design and interface, as well as improved search capabilities to find more entertainment choices more easily," Ashish Arora, vice president and general manager of Logitech's digital home products group, said in a statement.