In an attempt to succeed where they have failed before, Google has announced a low-cost TV dongle: Chromecast.
The device works by plugging it into your television’s HDMI port. It will then allow you to stream media from your smartphone, tablet or computer.
Priced in the US at an affordable $35, how much it will cost on the international market is still unclear.
This isn’t the first time that Google has attempted to create a presence in the TV industry. In 2010, Google TV was introduced. It failed due to the fact that most TV networks blocked the service and users were required to buy expensive hardware.
Two years later, Google teamed up with Sony to introduce a £200 set-top box, which was also a failure, like last year’s Nexus Q device.
After plugging into your television through its HDMI port, the Chromecast device will use your home wireless internet to link it to your device, be it a smartphone or a tablet computer. The difference between Chromecast and other devices like Apple TV is that it will stream its media from the cloud.
This will lend higher-quality streaming to the device, with less drain on the battery. Another advantage that the dongle enjoys over competing services like Apple TV is that it can stream across different operating systems, like iOS or Android.