Google has released the Chromecast in the UK (www.snipca.com/11719), a £30 dongle that claims to turn any HDMI-enabled ‘dumb’ TV into a Smart TV. Chromecast lets you wirelessly stream music and videos from your smartphone, computer or tablet to your television.
The device plugs into the HDMI port on your TV and is very simple to set up The Chromecast currently supports apps for BBC iPlayer, Google Play Movies, Netflix and Chrome, with many more services set to come. While Chromecast will stream most videos you open in the Chrome browser, they won’t look as good as the optimised videos played through the apps.
The Chromecast is entering an increasingly competitive streaming-device market. Sky’s Now TV box costs only £10, but much of its content comes at extra cost; Apple TV has plenty of apps, but costs £99; the new Roku Stick is set to launch in April for £50 and will include Sky Sports and Spotify, as well as iPlayer, Netflix and YouTube. We’ll review the Chromecast in Issue 421.
