 New “Chromecast” HDMI dongle to get video streams to your TV
New &ldquo;Chromecast,&rdquo; a $35 HDMI dongle to get video streams to your TV

          
          
The Chromecast will also work with music apps, specifically Google Music and Pandora. Google stated that a feature allowing users to project "any Chrome tab" to the Chromecast is in beta. Otherwise, the Chromecast requires no special hardware and will work with "most laptops and OSes," the company said.

    
                  
                  
          
    
    
      The browser incarnation of Chromecast.

          
  
        
            

Google drew a line in the sand between televisions and mobile devices: "Your personal device should be your remote." Only 15 percent of households figure out how to send video to their TVs in a given week, Sundar Pichai, Google's recently named Android head, said during the presentation.
Google placed a big emphasis on the idea that the Chromecast is somewhat platform-agnostic, given that it's designed to work with apps rather than operating systems. This is a pretty clear strike at the $99 Apple TV, which allows users to throw video streams to their TV from other devices, but any device they use must be part of Apple's ecosystem.
Google failed to point out one necessary component of the Chromecast dongle: a microUSB power cord that must be plugged in at all times in order for the device to work. This is disseminated in the faintest of gray text on the more comprehensive product detail page.
A developer preview of the Chromecast SDK will launch today for Android, iOS, and Chrome apps. The dongle itself will cost $35 and will be available from Amazon, Best Buy, and the Google Play store. Orders open today, and the device will ship within one to two days. At present, the purchase of a Chromecast device will come with a three-month Netflix subscription.


          
                  