The latest innovation seducing future-of-TV enthusiasts is Chromecast, Google's dongle that beams content from your smartphone, tablet, or laptop to your television screen, for 35 bucks.Google unveiled the product this afternoon, and it almost immediately sold out and was promptly hyped to high heavens. So what’s the big deal? Is this gadget porn or did Google just make a major play for the living room?
Advertisement
As myriad headlines have put it, the future of TV is the internet. Chromecast isn't another version of a “smart” web-connected TV, it connects your TV to your internet-centric life. This is big, because Google practically is the internet—a recent report found that the company serves up to 25 percent of online traffic in the US. Think about the data the search giant already has on us. It could offer recommendations a la Pandora or Netflix, say, the latest YouTube series you might like, and bring in targeted advertising. A total web/TV merge could re-define everything from the TV guide (now a search query) to the remote control (now your smartphone).If Apple TV has been described as a "hobby," Google is going after the mainstream. Hence the price point. Chromecast after all is essentially Apple TV only cheaper, and open to everyone, not just iOS users. That appeals to the folks who still have the top-notch flat screen with subwoofers entertainment system, but wind up consuming most of their entertainment on a laptop or iPhone anyway.Are we ready for that much Google in our lives? I for one would welcome some healthy competition. Apple, too, has a "grand vision" to change TV watching as we know it, Tim Cook promised back in May. It’s dropped some hints at what this might be, for instance, trying to eke out a deal with media companies to let users skip commercials, provided Apple reimburse the networks for the lost revenue. Not having to sit through ads is awesome, but you know what else makes it pretty easy to avoid commercials? The internet.Chromecast isn't another version of a “smart” web-connected TV, it connects the TV to your internet-centric life.
