Chromecast sales revealed to be in the

[techbeck]

Ever since Google announced the $35 Chromecast media streaming dongle, the company has enjoyed great success. We figured sales were off the charts with early availability of the dongle being scarce throughout various retail outlets, but now we have a better idea of just how much buzz Google has been able to generate around this thing.

 

According to Android and Chrome boss Sundar Pichai, Chromecast sales have crept into the ?millions? range, though he wasn?t interested in giving us any exact figures. Either way, hitting over a million units is significant, and Google won?t want to slow down at this point.

 

The company revealed at SXSW that they are working hard to bring the Chromecast to many more countries within the next few weeks. The device has only been available for US customers to this point, so it?ll be interesting to see just how successful this thing can be once more of the world gets their hands on it.

 

Even crazier to think about is the fact that the Chromecast train is only just getting started. It wasn?t until recently that Google opened up the SDK to any and every developer willing and able to implement support, and we?ve seen many new apps introduce functionality as a result. It?s already blossomed into a very powerful and flexible multimedia beast, and we imagine things will get even better once more developers catch on.

 

[via ReadWriteWeb]

 

http://phandroid.com/2014/03/10/chromecast-countries/

[+Warwagon MVC]

I bought one for my parents from our local Wal-Mart. They LOVE it. I also bought one.

 

Best way I can describe the Chromecast is that it scratches an itch that I think a LOT of people have.

[techbeck]

I bought one for my parents from our local Wal-Mart. They LOVE it. I also bought one.

 

I have bought one and if my parents every get a new TV (they still have a CRT even tho they have tablets/laptops/and smart phones) I will get them one as well.  Great little device and now even more possibilities with them opening it up and releasing the SDK.  Happy to see these doing well and apparently not going to fail according to some....

[+Warwagon MVC]

I have bought one and if my parents every get a new TV (they still have a CRT even tho they have tablets/laptops/and smart phones) I will get them one as well.  Great little device and now even more possibilities with them opening it up and releasing the SDK.  Happy to see these doing well and apparently not going to fail according to some....

 

The only thing I wish is that they were open to letting users modifying the firmware.

[techbeck]

The only thing I wish is that they where open to jailbreaking and users modifying it.

 

Yea.  There is a way to root it but only if you have a new device and it hasnt been updated yet.  Maybe later down the road this will happen but you still get a lot for the money.  Especially now with the potential of hundreds, or more, of apps being able to use it.

[George P Global Moderator]

It's kind of hard not to sell a good chunk of these when they're priced that low.  Now how much those actually get used we don't know.  I hear from others that hardly use them, this could change or not.   I'm more interested in technologies that don't need extra bits to work, like Miracast etc.

[greenwizard88]

I'd love to get one because it scratches that itch, but not at the expense of having to use Android.

 

DO YOU HEAR THAT MICROSOFT! Make me an xbox "two" that's media features only. And media features that aren't behind a paywall, that's why I still refuse to buy the "one" either.

[techbeck]

It's kind of hard not to sell a good chunk of these when they're priced that low.  Now how much those actually get used we don't know.  I hear from others that hardly use them, this could change or not.   I'm more interested in technologies that don't need extra bits to work, like Miracast etc.

 

I used mine a ton before I got the X1.  But now the X1 is ticking me off with the voice commands and crapping Netflix streaming that I am going back to the CC.  I watch Netflix a lot so that is a deal breaker for me.  The 35 dollar dongle does a better job at this than the 500 dollar system.

[Max Norris]

Does this thing allow you to either directly play videos via a network share al-la XBMC or a streaming server like Plex? Using a central DVR for that but not every TV in the house is connected and this would be cheaper in the long run for those "misc TV's" that I don't feel like getting DVR terminals for.

[spikey_richie]

I bought 8 whilst in the USA to bring back to the UK, sold 7 of them to my friends for ?30 and kept one for myself. All of the friends are very happy with their purchase.

[techbeck]

Does this thing allow you to either directly play videos via a network share al-la XBMC or a streaming server like Plex? Using a central DVR for that but not every TV in the house is connected and this would be cheaper in the long run for those "misc TV's" that I don't feel like getting DVR terminals for.

 

Not sure about the network share but Allcast allows streaming from cloud storage and is being updated all the time.  Wouldnt doubt this may be added later to Allcast.

[Eric Veteran]

The only thing I wish is that they were open to letting users modifying the firmware.

You can get generic Miracast ones on Amazon for the same price.

[Max Norris]

Not sure about the network share but Allcast allows streaming from cloud storage and is being updated all the time.  Wouldnt doubt this may be added later to Allcast.

Hrm may have to pick up one of these and toy with it.. meh even if it doesn't, at that price I can't see a reason not to, and if it does, will get a few more.

[Astra.Xtreme]

I'd love to get one because it scratches that itch, but not at the expense of having to use Android.

 

DO YOU HEAR THAT MICROSOFT! Make me an xbox "two" that's media features only. And media features that aren't behind a paywall, that's why I still refuse to buy the "one" either.

Well it's not exactly Android.  You do very little interaction with the dongle itself.

[FreeJAC1310]

If the voice commands are giving you an issue, you might need to re-calibrate. I normally use the Roku 3 for Netflix but the times I have used X1 it's been fine. The chromecast is in my study. Perhaps it's time for a side by side comparison.

[techbeck]

Hrm may have to pick up one of these and toy with it.. meh even if it doesn't, at that price I can't see a reason not to, and if it does, will get a few more.

 

Let me check specifics at home since I am at work and have no streaming devices.  Cloud storage was a recent update.  Allcast is supposed to be able to play MKVs but that is buggy

[spikey_richie]

You can get generic Miracast ones on Amazon for the same price.

 

I like to be able to use my 'phone to "broadcast" (I think the app just tells the Chromecast to go get the content itself, independent of the handset) Netflix movies, whilst using it for other purposes at the same time such as checking e-mails, text messages etc... Miracast won't allow me to do this afaik.

[RangerLG]

I actually bought one and then returned it.  Did not like having to set it up via my tablet.  I am looking for something to replace my Logitech Revue.  Might look at one in the future.

[spikey_richie]

I actually bought one and then returned it.  Did not like having to set it up via my tablet.  I am looking for something to replace my Logitech Revue.  Might look at one in the future.

 

You can do it from your smartphone via the web browser, or via a wireless laptop or desktop PC. It's recommended, but you don't HAVE to set it up using the Chromecast app.

[techbeck]

I actually bought one and then returned it.  Did not like having to set it up via my tablet.  I am looking for something to replace my Logitech Revue.  Might look at one in the future.

 

You can set it up on your PC or Mac as well.  Lots of things require a tablet/pc for setup these days

[tsupersonic]

I have one (bought upon release), so it ended up being like $11 after the Netflix promo. I don't use it that often though, mostly because I can't get surround sound output from it.

[+John Teacake MVC]

No wonder why! They work. Allcast allows local streaming. Finally!! Stream from Tablet to TV. Brilliant. 

[techbeck]

No wonder why! They work. Allcast allows local streaming. Finally!! Stream from Tablet to TV. Brilliant. 

 

MKVs dont work to well tho which Allcast says it supports and isa popular format.  MKVs used to play video great but always no sound.  Now it wont play either.  Only reason I have not bought the app and wont until MKV support is fixed.

[techbeck]

Does this thing allow you to either directly play videos via a network share al-la XBMC or a streaming server like Plex? Using a central DVR for that but not every TV in the house is connected and this would be cheaper in the long run for those "misc TV's" that I don't feel like getting DVR terminals for.

 

Dropbox and Google drive are supported.  Can stream to CC, X1, and Roku.  More info can be found online.

[Lord Method Man]

 

 

DO YOU HEAR THAT MICROSOFT! Make me an xbox "two" that's media features only. And media features that aren't behind a paywall, that's why I still refuse to buy the "one" either.

 

I would buy one of those right now.