As is always the case with such things, and especially anything involving streaming video or music, Google’s Chromecast dongle immediately attracted the attention of modders and developers alike. If there’s anything that gets the geek juices flowing it’s going to be a mini dongle with a bit if computing power. Sure enough, Chromecast was hacked, but in a good way which we users always like.
The Google Chromecast dongle has been making some ripples recently in the portable technology world. The little $35 dongle allows users to stream high-definition content directly to a TV set through service providers such as Netflix and YouTube. The content may be fairly limited at the moment, but with the Mountain View company planning on adding additional providers, the future looks bright for Google's little connected device. Having said that, controlling and interacting with the Chromecast got a tad bit easier with the official release of the Chromecast app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices.
If you're planning on getting your hands on a new Chromecast, then it's highly likely that you are a movie buff who loves nothing more than immersing yourself in your movie collection. That's all well and good, but as you may know, the product does come with its limitations, with one of those limitations being the inability to stream locally stored high resolution video through the device. We can all understand why this is the case, but it seems that not all developers are happy with the way Google sees things. Koushik Dutta - of ClockworkMod fame - has made his AirCast app available for Android devices that bridges the gap between what Google permits and what users actually want from the Chromecast.
Google's Chromecast peripheral only debuted a couple of weeks ago, but with its cheap price and emergence as a relatively hackable product, many consumers have jumped on board. For $35, the receiver lets you stream content from any device to your HDTV, but at this point, limitations mean that only a handful of video and audio services are currently compatible. Thus, some have opted not to pick up the Chromecast, and if you're one of those individuals holding off for the time being, you might be tempted by CheapCast, an app that can turn your Android device into a makeshift Chromecast receiver.
When Google announced its new Chromecast streaming dongle, the response amongst the technology world was split into two camps. Some shrugged their shoulders and said that it did nothing that Apple's Apple TV and AirPlay didn't already do. Others lauded the possibilities created by Google's cross-platform approach to something that had previously been an Apple-only affair. We sat somewhere in the middle of those two options, but now we're getting more excited, and with good reason.
iFixit has built a reputation on dissecting some of the latest and greatest gadgets to hit the technology scene, and with Google having only announced the Chromecast streaming peripheral a couple of days back, the repairs company has been up to its usual tricks once more. Although iFixit has fried many a fish bigger than the USB dongle-sized device, we're still excited to see what Google has managed to squeeze within. Take a look for yourself after the break!
The streaming media industry is currently in the midst of a boom, and never one to miss out on a potential area of growth within the technology world, Google has just taken the wraps off its new Chromecast TV content streaming device. The $35 dollar gadget, which borrows its form factor from a USB thumb drive, slots into your HDTV's HDMI port and allows you to stream content from any device. In essence, it bridges the gap between your run of the mill HDTV and the newer generation of Smart TVs, and for such a reasonable price tag, would seem a very attractive prospect.
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