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Chromecast is a useful device - but it's oONLY a Streamer. Can't do anything else at all.

Doesn't do local Streaming - only works by sending the link you are looking at in uTube / netflix whatever to the streamer. Though if you can hook it into plex for the web then it's a great device for the money.

That's what's cool about it: you find a stream on your phone/tablet and then tell the Chromecast to start streaming from the internet. However, it does not have Airplay-like functionality as the article implies.
 
1920x2000 pixels, 323PPI... that puts Apple in pressure for iPad Mini 2. iPad Mini 2 better gets retina display. Current display is not terrible, but near terrible.

Also, iPad Mini needs get better processor and larger memory. The new Nexus 7 gets quad core, 2GB and NFC...

$35 Chormecast is irreverent to me, because it is not available in Canada just yet.

Yes but honestly NFC was dead on arrival. No one I know uses it. Apple is implementing Airplay without NFC and everything you can do with NFC can be accomplished with Bluetooth. Now Android 4.3 is implementing Bluetooth low energy further proving Bluetooths dominance. NFC is like a light sensor. Yea kinda useful but will I live without it? Most definitely.
 
Chromecast is what I've wanted for years.

1 simple cheap HDMI plugin that allows any platform to stream to your TV's.

As more apps upgrade to support this it will change the living room as we know it today on any platform.

And that's why I have Apple Products filled with Google Apps and Services. The day Apple understand that is impossible to think Everyone will have only Apple products that day Apple will conquer all the tech-Empire as we know it.
 
That's a pretty compelling device!
A bit heavier than the Mini with a smaller screen... but with "retina"-level resolution and a LOT cheaper.

Apple needs to keep pace in the next release on both counts (and with no backsliding on the screen size or weght, of course!)

(I guess I don't really care though -- I'm looking forward to the next full-sized iPad to replace my original iPad.)
 
Hmmm. There is nothing wrong with the hardware but its no good for me.

It has one big issue, it runs Android which IMHO is such a flawed and poorly thought out OS - and this coming from someone who was originally excited to get a couple of Android phones last year, but who will be selling both of them near Xmas.

Now if they'd put a full Linux distro with touch comparability then we might be talking.

So not for me unfortunately, I'll just get the next full size iPad 5 or whatever it is to be called.
 
Could you explain where this wins over the iPad? I can't really see it.

$100 cheaper, higher resolution screen (but smaller), more RAM, faster processor (I never have any lagging on my Nexus 4 running 4.2.2 {the first Android OS that actually can give iOS a run for its money}), built in GPS (download an offline GPS app and it'll work well as a GPS unit), etc.

[Edit: Devices need faster processors and more memory to run Android smoothly].

That being said, that's only compared to the existing Mini. This updated Nexus vs. an updated Mini would probably swing toward the Mini.

I'm still waiting for updated iPads to get one but this is quite a good alternative to the Mini.
 
Yes but honestly NFC was dead on arrival. No one I know uses it. Apple is implementing Airplay without NFC and everything you can do with NFC can be accomplished with Bluetooth. Now Android 4.3 is implementing Bluetooth low energy further proving Bluetooths dominance. NFC is like a light sensor. Yea kinda useful but will I live without it? Most definitely.

Those visa cards with pay pass use NFC... if i am correct....AirPlay just do file transfers, AirPlay can't make payment, open doors where NFC devices can.

That being said, that's only compared to the existing Mini. This updated Nexus vs. an updated Mini would probably swing toward the Mini.

Not if new iPad Mini gets processor, RAM, display bump.
 
Will this show a web browser window (ie text, etc)? or only whatever a video box is on a page?

My computers do not allow AirPlay (they are too old).
This would be a great alternative.
 
$100 cheaper, higher resolution screen (but smaller), more RAM, faster processor (I never have any lagging on my Nexus 4 running 4.2.2 {the first Android OS that actually can give iOS a run for its money}), built in GPS (download an offline GPS app and it'll work well as a GPS unit), etc.

[Edit: Devices need faster processors and more memory to run Android smoothly].

That being said, that's only compared to the existing Mini. This updated Nexus vs. an updated Mini would probably swing toward the Mini.

I'm still waiting for updated iPads to get one but this is quite a good alternative to the Mini.

The iPad doesn't have GPS?! Regarding the RAM and processor speed, isn't the effect on the user also down to the software? Surely a faster processor in the Nexus 7 doesn't necessarily mean it does things quicker than the iPad?

I didn't realise the Mini had such a low res screen - seems a bit of a poor show for a premium manufacturer. Even my phone has a higher resolution!
 
Those visa cards with pay pass use NFC... if i am correct....AirPlay just do file transfers, AirPlay can't make payment, open doors where NFC devices can.

The functionality exists but it's not popular. At least not in the US I've heard it's more prevalent in Europe, but nowhere else.

Nfc has potential but no one uses it or cares about it. It's an afterthought
 
[Edit: Devices need faster processors and more memory to run Android smoothly].

That's the rumor you see thrown about around here, but I've yet to see anyone prove it.

When ICS came out, it was running perfectly smooth on last gen ARM processors and 1GB ram. Jelly Bean only made the OS run smoother on the same machines. Yet when a new Android device comes out with the inevitable higher specs, the first thing you see is someone say "olol that's cuz Android needs all that ram and power to run it cuz it's dumb".
 
I'll probably grab the new N7, if only to check out the latest version of Android. I had an HTC EVO for a while and I couldn't wait to go back to the iPhone, but that was a few Android versions back (Gingerbread).

I'm also interested to see how far along the Google app store has gotten. There are a few iOS apps I don't think I could live without, so I'm curious if they exist on Android and how well implemented they are.
 
1) if they'd put a full Linux distro with touch comparability then we might be talking.

2) I'll just get the next full size iPad 5 or whatever it is to be called.

Either you don't know what you want or you are looking for something really different. In the same sentence you dream for a linux distro and you also said you will buy a new iPad... that is so closed Darwin OS and contradictory to Linux. o_O ?
 
The chromecast seems interesting until you read that it also comes with a usb cable and power adapter. So, you plug this into the HDMI port and then out of that you have a cable and a power adapter.

Won't look as sleek as the promo shots with a cord dangling out of it.

Edit: Looks like you can either plug it into the power adapter or a USB port on your TV if you have one.

I'm wondering if its MHL compliant. For TV's with MHL HDMI provides power to certain HDMI devices. The reason for external power, it might be only for non-MHL HDMI tv's.
 
Yep. This is the first salvo.

Apple knew this was coming, but did little to do anything about it. If Apple TV had an SDK and apps available, it would have ruled the market by now.

Instead, it is more likely that this is the day that Google will start taking over the living room, after a few failed attempts. Just like they did with Android in the phone market.

The bad news for Apple: Google is releasing the Google Cast SDK later today. Cross-platform. Open.

Sadly, Apple had the lead, has the fan-base, has the knowhow. But it always prefers to squeeze another buck and keep the system closed. And this invariably results in it ending up as a niche player.

This Chromecast dongle is rather ugly, just like most things Google. I really wish Apple had seen it coming and preempted it.

By the time Apple releases its own SDK (and they will, just like they are finally implementing real multitasking in iOS 7), it will be too late for most to care.
 
1920x2000 pixels, 323PPI... that puts Apple in pressure for iPad Mini 2. iPad Mini 2 better gets retina display. Current display is not terrible, but near terrible.

Also, iPad Mini needs get better processor and larger memory. The new Nexus 7 gets quad core, 2GB and NFC...

$35 Chormecast is irreverent to me, because it is not available in Canada just yet.

One thing about the RAM (an processor to a degree): I was reading an interesting article about web apps on mobile devices and one thing it looked at was memory management: garbage collection vs. reference counting.

(The primary Androind app environment is Java which uses garbage collection for memory management. For iOS it's Objective-C which uses (automatic) reference counting.)

This article linked to research showing that garbage collected environments need at least 4-5 times the amount of RAM actually allocated to work efficiently and at less than 2x the RAM, things really slowed down.

So I wonder if its the case that iOS works just as well with less RAM. If so, it's a nice little advantage for iOS devices because they require less RAM (which means a little less power and a little less expensive to make, though it seems Apple is getting that money, no you or me.)
 
It's for holding. Smaller bezels on that sort of device look good in demos when propped up, but it often means your hands are obscuring part of the screen.

Nailed it. This is why I don't want a tablet that's just all screen. It looks nice sitting on a desk, but it's a pain in the ass to hold one.

And yeah, they could add dead zones around the screen, or put a blank buffer onscreen that emulates a bezel, but then you'd be paying more for less screen space.
 
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