Google claims the living room with Nexus Q device
It was only a matter of time. Google is now in the consumer electronics market. The Nexus Q was unveiled at the Google I/O conference last week.
The small spherical device is an Android powered streaming system with a built in amplifier and an HDMI output for video. To use an outboard amplifier, an optical digital output is also provided.
The Nexus Q isn’t just another Roku or Apple TV. In fact, Google claims that it’s controlled by your Android smartphone or tablet, not by its own remote or on screen display. It’s tied into Google Play for a completely cloud-based experience.
But that’s not the “killer app.” The Nexus Q is a social device which anyone in the home can share their content to, including a shared party queue. This means if you’re having few guests over for a party, they can all see what’s in the music queue and add music from their own collection. This also works with video content from YouTube or Google Play.
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Another cool feature is the Nexus Q is a multi-room device. You can put one in each room of your home to power speakers with their own queue or push one song through to all rooms for party mode.
So far Google hasn’t said anything about compatibility with other Android apps, such as Netflix, Pandora or other popular media apps. It seems like a real possibility unless Google tries to clamp it down to just Play content. Of course they did make a point of claiming it’s open to hacking, and that’s not something Apple smiles upon, so they could be going a different way than the Apple TV.
