Designed to plug into the back of any TV with an HDMI port, the Chromecast dongle is intended to provide easy access to streaming video. It's available for just $35 starting today in the U.S., with availability in other countries to follow.
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YouTube streaming and more
The compact 2-inch device will work with Netflix, YouTube, Google Play Movies & TV, and Google Play Music at launch, with support for future services, such as Pandora, coming soon.
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More than just a stick
As sleek as the Chromecast device looks, Google's initial presentation skimmed over some of the rougher edges. The specs in the Google Play store list both a USB power cable and a power adapter, which indicate that the Chromecast will have some wires hanging off it -- it's not truly "just a stick." It's the same method PLAiR used to power its similar HDMI-based streaming stick.
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Tiny but powerful
In addition to HDMI, the hardware itself supports 2.4GHz WiFi 802.11, which isn't quite as nice as the dual-band Wi-Fi offered on Roku's Streaming Stick. The internal processor is capable of playing back full 1080p video with 5.1 surround sound.
