Google has just unveiled the second generation of its popular video and photo streaming device, the Chromecast.
The new Google Chromecast 2.0 now looks different: it is round, comes in fresh new colors (Black, Coral and Lemonade) and features a tiny HDMI cable that folds and tucks to the back of the Chromecast making it more compact and easily fitting cluttered with HDMI cables setups.
The biggest change in the Chromecast v2 is the new app that allows it to easier find great content to stream to your TV via the gadget. Also, the streamer is now updated with a new antenna setup with support for dual-channel Wi-Fi, which will help you avoid congested networks.
Google has also built in smart algorithms that make sure that the new Chromecast switches to one of its three antennas that has the best reception.
Chromecast 2.0 Spec Highlights
- Dimensions: 51.9 x 51.9 x 13.49 mm
- Power cable: 1.75 m
- Weight: 39.1 g (0.086 lbs)
- Ports & Connectors: HDMI, Micro-USB
- Memory: N/A (512 MB DDR3L)
- Resolution: 1080p
- Connectivity/Network: Wi-Fi 802.11ac (2.4GHz/5Ghz)
- Power: 5V, 1A power supply
Chromecast 2.0 is priced at the same £30.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=32&v=yX6Kkq7hPJY
Chromecast Audio
A new edition is Chromecast Audio which brings streaming music from popular cloud services directly to your speakers.
The Chromecast Audio will connect to your speaker simply via the 3.5mm jack/RCA/optical, so it does not require any complicated setups. It does seem to require power at all times, though, so the gadget will need to be plugged in to work.
Streaming can be controlled via your smartphone (with apps for both Android and an upcoming one for iOS) and your Chrome browser on a traditional desktop/notebook. The advantage of this over a traditional Bluetooth dongle for a speaker is the better quality you get out of the Chromecast audio which seems to transfer data over Wi-Fi.
Chromecast Audio is priced at £30.
