( CNN ) -- Google rolled out a new Nexus 7 tablet on Wednesday . But a much smaller , much cheaper new gadget may be the one that makes a seismic impact in the consumer technology world . Chromecast is a glorified thumb drive that enables Web streaming to television . At $ 35 , it 's also practically free , considering that it comes packed with three free months of Netflix . Streaming media onto the ( relatively ) big screen is nothing new . Set-top boxes like Roku and Boxee have provided the service , at least in part , for years . More recently , Google 's now-defunct Nexus Q has battled Apple TV for the hearts and minds of consumers who have grown used to on-demand video on their laptops , tablets and even phones . With Chromecast , though , Google appears to have stripped down Web streaming to its purest elements . `` It looks like they have learned from their mistakes , and radically simplified the experience , '' Janko Roettgers wrote for tech blog GigaOM . `` Gone are the attempts to integrate existing pay-TV offerings , recruit app developers for yet another medium and ship devices with hideous , complicated remote controls . `` Instead , Chromecast is pure simplicity : Search and discovery of video content is happening on the mobile device or laptop , and all Chromecast does is stream media from the cloud . '' Google and Apple have both tried and , at least so far , largely failed to make inroads into the living room with streaming TV products . Google TV struggled to get some major content providers to play ball . And Apple CEO Tim Cook has acknowledged that Apple TV has languished as more of a novelty for diehard fans than a mass-market success . ( A full-on Apple TV set , which has been the tech world 's most-anticipated piece of rumored vaporware for the past couple of years , could of course change that ) . Those products , along with Roku , Boxee and the like , have been , in a way , similar to traditional TV . Approved `` channels , '' chiefly Netflix , Amazon and other Web video services , are available . But Chromecast takes streaming to a whole new level -- offering a quick , simple version of what tech-inclined folks have been able to accomplish by rigging up their laptops or desktops with their TVs . Essentially , if you can watch it on a computer , tablet or phone screen , you 'll be able to watch it on your TV . That 's the logical end goal of Web streaming , and many analysts are saying Google struck a huge blow by being the first to offer it up in a way that the typical consumer can understand and use . `` By coming out early at an extremely affordable price , Google may wind up dominating the TV delivery industry , '' consumer tech analyst Larry Magid wrote for Forbes . `` It 's hard to imagine that Hulu , Major League Baseball , HBO Go and every other content provider is n't beating a path to their door . I imagine that the TV networks , too , are anxious to get their content on the device . '' Early interest in the 2-inch gadget appears to be high . Thursday afternoon , Chromecast was listed as out of stock on Amazon and Best Buy 's website . The Google Play store was accepting orders , saying the device would be shipped in 3-4 weeks . While deals with the TV networks seem inevitable , Chromecast also could allow Google to make deals directly with content providers , in much the way Netflix has with original programs like Emmy-nominated `` House of Cards '' and a revived `` Arrested Development . '' Web TV services like Hulu have thus far tried to limit their basic service to computer screens , offering the ability to stream to television for extra money . Now , Hulu says it 's working with Google to offer an `` optimized '' version on Chromecast . How Chromecast will impact Google 's battle with Apple remains to be seen . The existing Apple TV product , with its Airplay feature that streams from the Web , has its devotees . But it only works with Apple products , naturally . Chromecast is designed to work on any platform that can run its Chrome browser . So a user could , for example , stream a YouTube video from an iPad , then watch a Netflix movie from a PC -- all streamed on a TV set through a Google device . `` On paper at least , it 's the best device Google has ever announced ... , '' Mat Honan wrote for WIRED , a CNN.com content partner . `` Did Google just win the living room ? No . But it definitely just cozied up on a lot of couches and got comfortable . ''
Google 's Chromecast will be a TV screen changer , some say . The Web streaming device costs $ 10 and plugs into TVs . Its simplicity is the key , some say . How Chromecast will affect the legal battle with Google remains to be seen .