Google to take on Apple TV with $35 Chromecast streaming device for iOS & Android

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Comments

  • Reply 61 of 226
    This is not direct competition to Apple TV as the article suggests, but simply a competitor to AirPlay, its pretty simple... since it cannot be used by itself.
  • Reply 62 of 226
    droidftwdroidftw Posts: 1,009member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by dugbug View Post


     


    its a netflix three months free trial, same as with any device on the planet, or even just going to netflix.com.  Its for new users only as far as I can tell.



     


    You would be mistaken.  It's 3 months free for new or existing users.


     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post



    It does tie up a device to do the actual streaming though. My Apple TVs are totally stand alone for things like Netflix or browsing my Photo Stream. Unless I happen to want to stream something from my iPad or Mac to the TV, like the entire Mac desktop, oh wait the Google thingy can't do that can it?


     


    From what I've read it won't tie up your Android or iDevice.  image

  • Reply 63 of 226
    disturbiadisturbia Posts: 563member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by PhilBoogie View Post



    2) Another attempt, ok. Hardly innovative; Apple has AirPlay for quite some time now.


     



     


    Per Google Einsteins's request, waste a precious HDMI port and watch some more Ads on your big screen TVs!


  • Reply 64 of 226
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,730member
    droidftw wrote: »

    From what I've read it won't tie up your Android or iDevice.  ;)

    Mmmm.. I don't think you got my meaning when I said 'ties up' . How about 'required' instead? Try leaving the house with the device that was streaming to the Google thingy, to go shopping or whatever, and see how the rest of the family enjoy looking at a the blank TV screen after you left! :D
  • Reply 65 of 226
    I like the price point. Even though I say this often when discussing matters of Apple vs. the competition...Google does not have the complete ecosystem to make this take off. Much of Apple success is tied to the complete ecosystem.
  • Reply 66 of 226
    shadashshadash Posts: 470member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Arlor View Post


     


    I have to admit I don't entirely understand why many Apple customers make a virtue of the company having high profits. I mean: I like my iPad, but I would like it even better if I hadn't paid a considerable portion of its price directly into Apple's enormous pile of cash. 


     


    Maybe all the people who feel this way are investors, which is a different and more obvious story. But why ordinary customers?



     


    I'll speak for myself.  


     


    1.  A decent profit margin means that Apple continues to innovate and come up with an iPad or whatever that is even better, in ways I won't pretend to predict.  Dell and HP get 5% profit margins.  The last thing I, as an Apple customer, would want to see is cheap MacBooks and iPads in the short term if I was sentenced to buy products at Dell levels of quality over the long term.  


     


    2.  Most of the hardware Google shoots out is cheap crap designed to suck the profit out of a market that Apple has created.  This is especially obvious in phones and tablets.  The lack of innovation - see where Apple is making money and shoot something cheaper out to make sure Google can continue to spew ads over the Internet - frankly angers me.  


     


    Maybe there are other reasons too, but these come to mind immediately.  

  • Reply 67 of 226
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Arlor View Post


     


    I have to admit I don't entirely understand why many Apple customers make a virtue of the company having high profits. I mean: I like my iPad, but I would like it even better if I hadn't paid a considerable portion of its price directly into Apple's enormous pile of cash. 


     


    Maybe all the people who feel this way are investors, which is a different and more obvious story. But why ordinary customers?



     


    Google makes high profits by shoving ads in your face, everywhere you go on the Internet.


     


    You are the product for Google's "ordinary", advertising customers.

  • Reply 68 of 226
    markbritonmarkbriton Posts: 123member
    It looks great, until you see "Power cord required (not shown)" in all the marketing. It needs to be connected to a USB power cord. I think the marketing pictures are totally misleading and I'm sure the UK's Advertising Standards Agency will agree :)
  • Reply 69 of 226
    I think it's a good idea. It's not the first. I believe I've heard of a couple other companies that were making devices that plugged into HDMI ports like one does with a USB flash drive.
  • Reply 70 of 226
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,730member
    markbriton wrote: »
    It looks great, until you see "Power cord required (not shown)" in all the marketing. It needs to be connected to a USB power cord. I think the marketing pictures are totally misleading and I'm sure the UK's Advertising Standards Agency will agree :)

    And you have to use a device to stream to it! AppleTV is able to be 100% stand alone to watch Netflix, Photo Stream or whatever. Far more powerful and useful.
  • Reply 71 of 226


    I was thinking the same, but that's not exactly a fatal flaw.  It would be more severe if it wasn't price so low, either.


     


    Most people like to only do one thing at a time.  How can you enjoy watching entertainment when you're hunched over a laptop doing work you brought home from the office?  Then again, if you wanted to stream something to your television but your spouse needs the laptop for something else, could be a source of strife.


     


    What we're not seeing is just how effective the range of this thing actually is.  How much power can you draw from an HDMI port anyways?  How much of it can basically be used for the radio system?  (Oh, I guess it needs a power cord; the ad is misleading).


     


    But then again, for $35 bucks it's an afterthought purchase.  If it doesn't work that well, you're only out $35.

  • Reply 72 of 226
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    This device looks better than AppleTV for the simple reason that it works with both iOS and Android devices, whereas AppleTV only works on iOS devices.

    Not at all. Apple TV works even if you don't have a mobile device at all. I would venture that most Apple TV users do things other than Airplay.
  • Reply 73 of 226
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by MacVicta View Post


     


    Profits fuel innovation in Cupertino.  They enable Apple to take huge risks and come up with great, revolutionary products as opposed to cheap derivatives of others' work.  Whenever Tim Cook comes on a stage to show us the next big thing, it will be born out of that considerable portion of profit from your iPad.



     


    Bull.  Billions sitting in offshore accounts and a lower R&D budget than most comparable rivals say you're full of it.


     


    Mega profit didn't fuel the iMac, the iPod or OS X.  Pursuit of it may have, but the proceeds of it did not.    The iPhone or iPad are less directly relatable, but by implication the same argument applies.

  • Reply 74 of 226
    "But how are they taking on Apple if they don't release a television?"

    And what does this product say about Google's earlier TV options? Are they admitting that they're terrible?

    It says they are improvable. Kinda like the Newton
  • Reply 75 of 226
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    It says they are improbable. Kinda like the Newton

    How do either of those sentences make sense?
  • Reply 76 of 226
    S
    
    It says they are improvable. Kinda like the Newton
  • Reply 77 of 226
    Then the ads start appearing in front of your content...
  • Reply 78 of 226
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,730member
    jragosta wrote: »
    Not at all. Apple TV works even if you don't have a mobile device at all. I would venture that most Apple TV users do things other than Airplay.

    Exactly. Using Airplay is an occasional use for most AppleTV users. I suspect many have never even tried it.
  • Reply 79 of 226
    crossladcrosslad Posts: 527member
    allenbf wrote: »


    Yeah, because Apple TV doesn't have to plug into a wall outlet?
    The Chromecast power brick look bigger than the whole of the Apple TV
  • Reply 80 of 226

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by LAKings33 View Post



    This is a great bit of hardware. Anyone that actually bothered to do their research into what this is and what it can do will more than likely agree.


    Can it stream my iTunes content? That's currently what I use my ATV3 for 95+% of the time. We do a bit of movie preview watching and a bit of AirPlay mirroring as well.


     


    It will be interesting to see how it performs and how quickly devs will update apps to utilize it. I don't think it will be for me, but if it performs well (or even good enough), I think it could do well.

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