Walmart’s quietly launched Vudu Spark is the latest Chromecast competitor, a device that’s supposed to be about as big as Google’s streaming dongle, but even cheaper. However, it appears the stick might have more limited powers than the Chromecast also, as GigaOm reports. More →
Looking for a last-minute gift that doesn’t burn a hole in your wallet? Hugely popular YouTube gadget reviewer Marques Brownlee has you covered. In his latest video on last-minute holiday tech gifts, Brownlee lists a bunch of different products and accessories that are relative steals and cost $50 or less. More →
Chromecast is a very cool way to stream content from your smartphone or PC onto your television. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with a remote control that you can use to manage the device from your couch. GigaOM brings us the story of Chromecast fan Jeff Bower, who decided to take matters into his own hands and build his own remote control to use with Google’s popular streaming USB stick. More →
One of the bummers about Chromecast is that it doesn’t have an official Amazon Prime app that will let you stream Amazon content that you watch on your computer to your television. That said, Android Police brings us word that there’s a new app called Primecast that promises to give you access to all of your Amazon Instant Video content on Chromecast, although there’s no telling whether Amazon will allow it to keep doing so in the future. More →
Amazon’s $99 Fire TV was the company’s first streaming media player meant to compete against the Apple TV, Roku or Chromecast, but the company has finally figured out how to make an actual Chromecast-like device that might be more popular with consumers. Announced on Monday, the Fire TV Stick costs just $39, $4 more than Google’s popular streaming dongle, though Amazon Prime subscribers can preorder it for just $19 over the next two days.
After having been spotted in FCC documentation, the second-generation Chromecast has been confirmed by Googlers from the Chromecast team during a Reddit ask-me-anything session, but they said the device will not have any new features for users, without revealing more details about it. Meanwhile, Gigaom has learned that a Chromecast V2 is indeed coming, as Google doesn’t plan to replace its extremely affordable and very popular dongle with Android TV just yet. More →
The Chromecast dongle is one of the most popular gadgets Google launched in the last few years, according to the company’s own past statements, but a second-generation model is yet to hit stores. But when it does come out, a new Chromecast won’t have any new features to offer users, Google has confirmed, after an FCC filing outed the second-generation device. More →
Google’s Chromecast is an incredibly intuitive take on the set-top box, but it has its limitations. For example, it’s not much of a games console, but Concept96 hopes to change that with its very first casual game designed specifically for the Chromecast. In its Kickstarter campaign, Concept96 is asking for just £1000 (~$1600) to build Buzzb, a multiplayer quiz game that lifts videos and music from YouTube, Soundcloud and other online sources. More →
Google on Wednesday updated its popular Chromecast app for iPhone and iPad users, adding plenty of new features for users to play around with. It previously announced the feature named Backdrop at Google I/O but this new update adds a whole lot more.
A lot of new tech is out there and it’s hard to choose what to buy and how much to pay for a device — some people can’t afford to drop $700 dollars on a new tablet or phone, for example. They’re looking for stuff that is under $200, but gadgets still good enough to get the job done. This is where we turn to the users of Reddit to find the 10 best tech toys under $200.
Popcorn Time, also known as Netflix for Pirates, also known as a nightmare for Hollywood and its fight against piracy, has just gotten better for users, or at least for those people who happen to have an Android device. Popcorn Time announced on its blog that it has updated its Android app, adding Chromecast streaming support to the mix. More →
One of the coolest new features for Google’s Chromecast, the ability to mirror the display on your Android smartphone or tablet to a television, is still in beta. That means it’s only available on a select few Android devices, but you can expand the functionality to a much wider range of devices if you’re willing to download the rooted MirrorEnabler SDK. More →
The market for web TV streaming devices is heating up and Roku and Google’s Chromecast look like the big winners so far. Per GigaOM, new data from researchers at Parks Associates estimates that both Chromecast and Roku each have sold around 3.8 million units in the United States over the past year while Apple TV has sold only 2 million units in the U.S. over the same period. This makes a lot of sense because Chromecast and Roku’s new USB dongle are both less expensive than Apple TV, which is supposedly due for a major refresh sometime this year. More →
