Google’s Chromecast, an HDMI-connected device that allows users to push online content such as streaming video onto TVs, Is now for sale in Canada at Amazon.ca and the Google Play store.
“This is a really simple way to get online content on your television. What the Chromecast does is that it allows any device in your home to be able to send content to your TV,” said Raunaq Shah, Chromecast’s product manager, in a briefing Tuesday at Google’s Toronto office. “It’s cross platform, so it works across Android, iOS, Windows and Mac.”
The low price is one of the reasons that since its launch last July in the U.S., it has been Amazon’s best-selling electronics product. But beyond the price point, Shah says, ease of use is one of the best things about the product.
“Once you put it in the back of your TV, if you know how to use YouTube on your phone, you know how to use YouTube on your TV,” he said. “The second thing that is really important is it allows your device to be a controller without consuming all its resources. So it doesn’t drain the battery. Once you send the video, the Chromecast does the heavy lifting of getting the video on your TV, and your phone or tablet or laptop can be used as you would normally use it.”
The device allows users to watch and push content from their devices — phones, tablets or computers — up onto their TVs. It requires Wi-Fi to work, and many of the supported apps on your device, including Netflix, YouTube and Songza, will recognize that the Chromecast is on your network and let you play the content your TV simply by pressing a “cast” icon.
Google recently opened up the product to developers, and there are reportedly 3,000 developers working on apps.
