Google's Chromecast: Google's $35 Streaming Gizmo

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Google's Chromecast: Google's $35 Streaming Gizmo

At an event where everyone was expecting a new Android tablet ( and got one) Google announced something far more interesting and important: The Chromecast, a small stick that jacks into the back of your television via HDMI and allows you to sling content via Wi-Fi from your phone, tablet or computer to the big screen. It costs $35, and comes with three months of free Netflix (even for existing subscribers), which means it effectively costs $11 plus shipping.* On paper at least, it’s the best device Google has ever announced.

Chromecast is delightfully cross-platform. YouTube, Google Play and Chrome web browsing are also supported by the Chromecast. It’s compatible with Android tablets, iPhones, iPads, Macs and Windows-based PCs. Browsing content is performed on one of those devices as is playback control and volume adjustment. The original device controls playback–so if you want to turn up the volume on your TV, simply turn up the volume on your phone. Any program that uses the Googlecast SDK can send content–Google specifically mentioned Netflix and YouTube, and says Pandora is on the way. The Chrome browser itself can also sling content via “Chrome tab projection.”

It's set up couldn’t be easier. Switch inputs on your TV and you’ll see a screen that walks you through the set-up process, which involves downloading an app to your phone or tablet and pairing it with your TV via your home’s Wi-Fi network, making sure to match the code Chromecast shows you on TV. It couldn’t have taken me more than 5 minutes.

Once you’ve installed the app on your device -- it works on Android and will soon be on iOS, meaning your iPad and iPhone too -- any Chromecast-enabled app can beam videos to your television with the press of an icon. At present, that’s just three apps,Netflix, YouTube, and Google Play, but Google swears other content partners are working on it.

YouTube, Google Play and Chrome web browsing are also supported by the Chromecast, compatible with Android tablets, iPhones, iPads, Macs and Windows-based PCs

While I haven’t used a  Chromecast yet, some sort of dedicated controller might be useful, although Google advertises the product as “remote free.” On tablets and through Google Chrome, sending content to Chromecast is as easy as pressing a “cast button,” so perhaps a complicated controller defeats the purpose of the ecosystem Google is trying to create.

Unfortunately, until browser-based apps like Plex have the ability to work with Chromecast, it may be difficult to stream downloaded content through the device. Of course, savvy developers will probably find a way to work around to this problem at some point in the near future.

On tablets and through Google Chrome, sending content to Chromecast is as easy as pressing a cast button

Unfortunately Chromecast is only available in the U.S. right now and Canadian customers aren’t able to purchase the product from Google’s Play store. American version of websites Best Buy and Amazon are also sold out of the Chromecast right now.

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