Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
BY EVAN THOMAS
ANCHOR NATHAN BYRNE
Google is looking to your living room. At its I/O developers conference Wednesday the
search giant announced the Nexus Q.
It’s a part-wireless media orb that streams content from Google Play and is controlled
almost solely by Android devices. Users queue up music and movies by adding to lists from
their phone or tablet. The only control on the Q itself is volume.
Q is a milestone for Google, too — it’s the first device designed and manufactured
by Google itself, here in the U.S. But as the New York Times reports, that’s about
all we know.
“Google is not saying a lot about its domestic manufacturing, declining even to disclose
publicly where the factory is in Silicon Valley. It also is not saying much about the source
of many of its parts in the United States.”
Google is touting the Nexus Q as a return to the era of shared music — less earbuds,
more loudspeakers. But access is still limited. Wired reports.
“The platform doesn’t support iOS, Windows Phone or any desktop OS, so anyone who wants
to exert queue control will have to do so on an Android device — another factor that’s
bound to limit consumer interest.”
The upside is it will work pretty seamlessly with anyone who’s using an appropriate controller.
As The Verge explains, the Nexus Q doesn’t depend on local media.
“It’s going to sign into your Google account. That’s because the Nexus Q doesn’t actually
stream media directly from your device. It streams music and movies from the Google Play
cloud.”
Of course, Google already offers a series of smart TVs from various manufacturers that
also stream content from the cloud. VentureBeat says the new gadget seems a little bit redundant.
“…Google already has a streaming media platform in Google TV, which it’s fighting
hard to gain support for among both consumers and developers. The Nexus Q’s functionality
should have been a complimentary feature on the Google TV platform, which would make it
more competitive with Apple TV.”
Especially at that price, says CNET.
“The Nexus Q is an attractive device, especially for Android owners, but at $299, it’s definitely
going to scare a few people away.”
But TechCrunch says Google understands it has to take a stance in the market.
“The Nexus Q might be a more expensive, less useful version of the Apple TV, but it
also shows you how Google is thinking about its place as a hardware vendor and why it
thinks it’s important to play in that space. It shows that Google recognizes the need to
have an integrated ecosystem to compete against the likes of Apple.”
Google says the Nexus Q will be shipping “soon.” It’s available for preorder now at the Google
Play store.