Google’s $35 Chromecast Puts the Internet on Your TV

Google’s $35 Chromecast Puts the Internet on Your TV

Google (GOOG) has already given the world $300 phones and $200 tablets, but the newest gizmo from the House of Android comes in at a cool $35.

Dubbed the Chromecast, the 2-inch, black plastic dongle connects to a television set via the HDMI port to give access to all kinds of Internet stuff, including YouTube videos, movies and TV shows from Netflix (NFLX), and, coming soon, music from Pandora (P). It can also pull down almost any other Web content that’s viewable on a computer in Google’s Chrome browser.

Users can control the Chromecast with any of the full range of popular computing devices – an Android or Apple (AAPL) phone or tablet, a Windows or Mac computer and even via Google’s pricey Pixel Chrome laptop.

Google’s $35 Chromecast Puts the Internet on Your TV

But unlike Apple’s Airplay feature, which sends video to a TV set via streaming right from an iPhone or iPad, Chromecast makes its own connection to the Internet from home wifi networks. The user’s phone, tablet or laptop functions as a remote control.

And Chromecast can start playing a video on orders from one person’s phone or device and then shift control to anyone else’s compatible device if desired.

The new gizmo comes as Google and many rivals, including Apple, are racing to create new video services to compete with – or work alongside – cable television. Such a service could eventually flow all kinds of channels directly to a Chromecast with its low $35 entry fee.