Jul 24
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 …
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Jul 24
Google Chromecast hands-on
Posted in: Today's ChiliIt almost seems too good to be true, but Google’s new Chromecast HDMI dongle is a reality. The small device lets users beam content from their mobile devices or computers to their HDTVs, but instead of the content going through the device first, it goes straight to the television. The best part is, the dongle only costs $35.
We’ve gotten the chance to have a peek at the HDMI dongle here in San Francisco where Google just announced a handful of new products, including a refreshed Nexus 7, Android 4.3, and the Chromecast. The dongle itself is fairly simple, with a textured plastic feel with an HDMI port on one end and a microUSB port at the other for power.
The microUSB provides power to the stick, and it’ll come with a cable and power adapter in the box. From there, you can either plug it into the USB port on your television, or plug it into a nearby outlet using the included power adapter. While USB ports on TVs don’t provide a way to transfer data, they do provide power, and that’s what is required in this case.
The dongle does rely on a WiFi connection, though, so you’ll need a home WiFi network in order for Chromecast to work, but the dongle creates its own WiFi hotspot that your mobile device or computer can connect to. Chromecast is compatible with Android, iOS, Windows, and OS X devices.
The Chromecase device works with a few services already, including Netflix, YouTube, Pandora, and obviously Google Play TV and Movies, and since the content is delivered straight to the dongle, this allows you to keep browsing on your device while a video continues playing on the TV.
Furthermore, you can use the Chromecast along with your TV as a second display for your laptop or desktop, letting you beam a Chrome tab to your TV, while you continue to surf the internet on your computer. For just $35, it’s quite the device, and almost something that the company could just give away at some point or include for free when you purchase a Nexus 7. For now, you’ll have to fork over $35, but that’s nothing compared to other media streaming devices on the market.
Google Chromecast hands-on is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Jul 24
Google’s relationship with television is spotty, at best. Google TV, whether as a set-top box or as a built-in product, has been an ongoing punchline. It didn’t even sell television shows in the Play Store until a year ago. But Chromecast
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Jul 24
After Google’s Nexus 7 announcement today, we had the opportunity to put the new device through its paces and it did not disappoint. The new unit is noticeably lighter than its predecessor and its narrower form factor makes it easier to fit in a back pocket without busting seams.
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Jul 24
Nexus 7 (2013) Hands-on
Posted in: Today's ChiliAs a full reboot of the original 7-inch ASUS-made slate, Google has opted to keep the same name, same manufacturer, and same attitude toward the Android world, aiming to continue to scoop up the market here with a 2013 edition of the Nexus 7. This device looks and feels exceedingly similar to the original, working with the same physical size display, a bit thinner yet taller tablet body, and a back-facing camera. Inside it’s got a whole different set of processor bits and pieces, on the other hand.
With the Nexus 7 2, or the Nexus 7 2013, whatever you’d like to call it, you once again get a rather simple combination of obviously high-end parts, starting with this machine’s display. Instead of a 1280 x 800 pixel display, this next-generation machine has a big more staggering 1920 x 1200 pixels to its name – that’s 323 PPI and well over the rest of the tablet world, especially this device’s biggest competitors.
This machine works with an untextured soft plastic back featuring the NEXUS brand in its center, aimed horizontal rather than the previous generation’s vertical. Here you’ve got two speakers as well – both back-facing though they are, they remain exceedingly loud as the reverberate in the palms of the users’ hands. We’ll compare this to the HTC One’s BoomSound and NVIDIA SHIELD’s dual speaker system soon enough.
On this tablets’ back is a new 5 megapixel camera without flash, and around this device’s edges are a full-sized headphone jack, microUSB port (slimport, mind you), power button, and volume rocker. Up along the top – the same place the power button and volume sit – you’ll find two mic holes – double the fun for ambient noise correction.
Sit right as we roll forward with a full review and the top-to-bottom analyzation of this tablet as it hits our test bench soon!
Nexus 7 (2013) Hands-on is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Jul 24
Hands-on with Chromecast, Google’s wireless HDMI streaming dongle (update: video)
Posted in: Today's Chili
We should’ve known this was coming after Google and Netflix informed us back at CES they were working on their AirPlay competitor, the DIAL wireless streaming protocol. Today, with the revelation of the new Chromecast HDMI dongle to leverage DIAL and expand upon it, you’ll be able to stream more content more easily to your home’s biggest screen — all for just 35 bucks. We got to check out the Chromecast at today’s Google event, so join us, won’t you, for our full impressions.
Gallery: Google Chromecast hands-on
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Tablets, HD, Google
Jul 24
Google unveiled the latest in its flagship tablet lineup, the new Nexus 7, at a low-key media event Wednesday morning.
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Jul 24
The Nexus 7 was a rather swell device when it was officially launched last year, and now we’ve had the opportunity to play with the next-gen version, which bumps the swellness factor a notch or two. The tablet, which boasts a 1080-quality display (1,920 x 1,200, to be precise) and Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, is being shown off after this morning’s Breakfast with Sundar event — which we suppose means we’re now at brunch. We’ve grabbed a few images of the new tablet, seen below, and have added some early impressions after the break. Meet us there to see what we think.
Update: Hands-on video after the break!
Gallery: Nexus 7 hands-on (2013)
Jul 24
This week the folks a Google have introduced a re-birth of the TV-connected smart device Nexus Q with a dongle called “Chromecast”. This device connects through your television’s standard HDMI port, connects to the web via Wi-Fi, and is controlled by a wide variety of devices, including Android, iOS, Chrome for Windows, Chrome for OS X, and Chrome OS on the Chromebook Pixel.
This device can be explained first by the Nexus Q, a machine that was introduced in 2012 and was quickly doused in the face of its slightly larger-than-life form factor and limited functionality. Now here in 2013, Google comes back with essentially the same package in a pocketable dongle called Chromecast.
This device connects – at first – with YouTube, Netflix, and Google’s media services in Google Play – movies and music, too. This device will cost a surprising $35 USD – and if you’re reading this just a few minutes after the device was first introduced, you’ll likely see one of two messages: “Coming soon” or “sold out”. This could be a glitch, or it could very well be that Google hit the price point on the head.
The device itself works with HDMI and is CEC compatible, working with a maximum video resolution output at 1080p. The dongle measures in at 72(L) x 35(W) x 12(H) mm and weighs an easy-to-forget-about 34g, and needing one of the following operating systems to function:
• Android 2.3 and higher
• iOS 6 and higher
• Windows®7 and higher
• Mac OS 10.7 and higher
• Chrome OS (Chromebook Pixel, additional Chromebooks coming soon).
And be sure to note that you’re going to need to plug this bad boy in to the wall as well. Barely visible in these preview images, there is indeed a microUSB port at the back of this machine – most modern televisions have a USB port on their back anyway, they’ll do the trick. Otherwise you’ll be needing another power port behind your TV. Time for another power strip!
Chromecast hits $35 price point, aims to connect TV to the web this week is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Jul 24
Now that Google has let its $35 Chromecast HDMI dongle out of the bag at its breakfast press event, it’s gonna need developers to chip in some apps for it. To help boost that effort, the company is releasing the Google Cast SDK to help those folks bring content from mobile and the web to TVs. By using the kit, developers won’t need to build new applications for the big screen from scratch; they’ll just need to make a few tweaks to their existing mobile apps. Mountain View expects Google Cast tech to be embedded in future hardware from its partners, with Chromecast being “the first instantiation” of such an ecosystem. You can now grab a preview (at the source) for iOS, Android and Chrome — which is good news, since the wee dongle already appears to be sold out on Play.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Google
Source: Google Cast
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