Hands-on: Google Chromecast

We’ve been laying around with the Google Chromecast we borrowed from my @geekynights co-host @marklim for the past week and checked if delivers on its promise. The device has been sold out in the US and shipment delays extended to months after initial release at only $35PHP 2,054INR 2,966EUR 33CNY 255.

Right out of the box, the Chromecast looks like an oversized USB flash drive with an HDMI plug.

The basic set up looks like this: Chromecast plugs to the HDMI port of the TV –> the microUSB cable plugs to the Chromecast and a spare USB port in the TV (or to a plug to a wall charger) –> Chromecast runs a WiFi signal to hook up using any iOS or Android device –> download the Chromecast app in the Play Store or iTunes App Store –> iOS/Android device sets up the Chromecast to an internet-enabled WiFi network.

Take note that the app is only available in the US stores at the moment. There’s an APK for the Android app being shared but you have to have a US iTunes account to get it for iOS devices.

Once connected, you can open the YouTube app or Netflix app and select a media to play. Once playing, you will notice an icon on the top right corner of the video appear. Press the icon to stream the content to your Chromecast+TV setup.

Chromecast will take over the streaming. You can then use the smartphone to do something else; even close the YouTube app if you want to. Controlling the stream will require you to run the related app (for now it’s just YouTube).

If you’re on a desktop or laptop, you can also download the Google Cast extension in Chrome browser. This will also allow you to stream whatever page your are browsing to the TV. Very neat if you want to demo and display everything on your browser.

What we noticed is that streaming on YouTube seems to be much better compared to other methods we tried before (Android phone to TV via HDMI/MHL, laptop to TV via HDMI, Smart TV). Looks like there’s some optimization or prioritization going on in there that we don’t know.

The case use for now is very limited by Chromecast does it really well. And for $35PHP 2,054INR 2,966EUR 33CNY 255, it’s already a good deal. We’re hoping there will be more apps supported (like VLC for downloaded movies, Gallery for photos and even documents).