Google announces Android-based Nexus Player for Media Streaming and Gaming

Apart from the much awaited Nexus 6 and Nexus 9, the Mountain View tech giant has also introduced the Android-based Nexus Player developed in collaboration with Asus. The Nexus Player is a set-top box to stream music, TV shows and movies as well as play Android Games. Nexus Player will be the first device to run Google’s Android TV that was officially unveiled by Google at its I/O conference back in June this year and was set to arrive with Android L. It runs Android TV based on Android 5.0 Lollipop.

The Nexus Player is a small seek-looking device measuring 4.7 inches in diameter and 0.78 inches in height (120mm x 120mm x 20mm). It is powered by a quad-core Intel Atom processor clocked at 1.8GHz and Imagination PowerVR Series 6 graphics 2D/3D Engine. It has 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage.

The Player connects to the TV through HDMI so you’ll need a TV with HDMI input. Internet connectivity is through WiFi and there is Bluetooth for the remote along with a micro USB 2.0 port. The Nexus Player also has a voice-activated remote for playing casual games and searching for media by using your voice. A Gamepad is available to buy separately for gaming.

Personalized recommendations based on data collected by Google from all its services will appear automatically on the home screen so that you won’t have to search much. Google Cast allows you to cast the media of your choice to the TV from Android or iOS devices, Mac, Windows laptop/PC or Chromebook. You have the option to start a game or a movie on your TV and finish it on your tablet or smartphone because the Nexus Player has the ability to sync content across Android devices.

Apart from its own YouTube, Google Play Music  and Google Play Movies & TV, Google’s media partners for the Nexus Player include Netflix, tunein, huluplus, Bloomberg TV,TED, HGTV Watch, musixmatch, Pluto.TV, iHeartRadio, Vevo, Food Network and many more.

According to re/code, the Nexus Player will cost $99 and the Gamepad will cost $39. The device will be available on November 3 but you can pre-order it from October 17 onward from Google Play Store.

Google announces Android-based Nexus Player for Media Streaming and Gaming

Google Android Wear: No custom skins allowed

One of the biggest complaints throughout Android’s history has been the changeability of the user interface depending on what manufacturer you choose. There have been fairly large variations between stock Android, TouchWiz, Sense, and others making Android platform fragmented when it comes to personalized OEM user experiences . This is set to change with Android TV, Auto and Wear. Google is actively preventing OEM partners from adding customized elements on the devices recently announced at Google I/O.

Google engineering director of Android & Nexus, David Burke spoke with Ars Technica to confirm that “the UI is more part of the product in this case. We want to just have a very consistent user experience, so if you have one TV in one room and another TV in another room and they both say Android TV, we want them to work the same and look the same.”

Some customization will be permitted; they’ll be able to add custom apps, services, and other small touches, but changing up the overall look and feel is expressly forbidden. On one side this would mean the end of personalized “skins” for hardware to differentiate between the OEMs, but on the rear side of the coin we’re looking at a more consistent Google experience between brands, making it easier to experiment with multiple products.

When it comes to Android Wear and Android Auto, those are more extensions of your smartphone than standalone platforms of their own. And, Google wants to have a seamless upgrade experience for Android TV, similar to what it has created with Chrome. To do that requires the software be completely under Google’s control with no manufacturer customizations.

Both the Gear Live and the G Watch are running the exact same version number and build number of Android. So it looks like Google is going to be able to manage the updates ‘automatic and seamless’ for these devices in a way that it hasn’t been able to on phones and tablets.

 

 

Google Android Wear: No custom skins allowed

Razer media control to be based on Android TV

Just day before yesterday, Google unveiled its much awaited Android TV that comes with video and music streaming along with multi-player gaming. Razer is one of the partners of Google who would be providing Android TV Set-top boxes. And now, Razer has officially went out announcing that it is launching Android TV based media console this fall and would be primarily aimed on gaming. However, any compatible hardware for Android TV is expected to not arrive before September but Razer was much excited to make the announcement. The media console from Razer would also be expected to able to view media content with the courtesy of Google Play.

At the time of announcing Android TV, Sharp and Sony were announced as the first OEMs to bring into market dedicated television featuring Android TV. But news are that that Razer is planning to bring in a similar kind of interface as seen in the recently launched Amazon Fire TV.

However at the moment, there is no official word regarding the pricing or hardware of the device but we expect things to get more clear as we approach closer to the launch date. However, Razer has posted an official picture of the media console that hosts a neon lighting at the bottom as seen in the above image.

Razer media control to be based on Android TV

Google officially unveils Android TV at the I/O conference

The Smart TV market is set to become stronger. Google officially unveiled Android TV at its I/O conference yesterday, June 25.  Android TV will support streaming of video, music and games. Essentially, Android TV will bring Android apps and games to your Television. This platform can be run through a set-top box or integrated directly into your TV.

Dave Burke, Google’s director of engineering who introduced Android TV at the I/O conference says that Android TV is not a new platform but will be part of Google’s Android L update for smartphones, which would come later this year.

There were reports earlier that Google might unveil Android TV at the I/O event and they have been proven true. Android TV will enable you to use your Android smartphone as a remote control for your TV, open Android TV apps and control your TV screen through your smartphone.

Watch live TV and Streaming TV

With Android TV, you can watch live TV on your Television or you can watch other internet-connected entertainment content as per your choice, be it Netflix, TED, iHeartRadio, Google Play store or something else. Android TV can be used to scroll through the channels while watching live TV and if you want to watch a streaming program, just press the Home button that will take you to the Android interface. There is a built-in Google Cast which allows you to cast shows and movies from your smartphone or tablet to the TV.

Gaming

You can play Android games from your smartphone or tablet on your TV. You can also launch and play games onto the TV from your Google Play games. You can play multi-player android games. One person can play with a game controller and another person can play by using a smartphone or tablet.

At the unveiling, Google demonstrated the NBA Jam multiplayer game with one player on Android TV and the other on an Android tablet.

Photos

You will also be able to see all your photos stored in your smartphone or other internet pictures on your TV’s big screen.

 Google Voice Search

Android TV also offers Google’s voice search functionality so that you can easily search for a live TV show, or some music video from YouTube or any good movie from Google Play just by giving a voice command. Say what you would like to see on your TV and a range of options will appear. Android TV has a great search feature that allows you to search across multiple devices. You can also ask questions to the Android TV. By using Google Search, it will provide an answer as well as recommendations depending on the question.

If you lose your remote, no worries. It would be possible to use your Android Wear wearables to control Android TV.

Android TV’s Google Play TV Store will open in the fall this year along with the public release of Android L. Sony, Sharp, Philips and TP Vision have all partnered with Google to launch a range of TV models supporting Android TV. Razer, Asus and other companies will be making Android TV streaming Set-top boxes later this year.

You can check out Google’s official Android TV page here. The Android L developer preview will also be available from today over here, where developers can get access to tools to design apps for Android TV.

Google officially unveils Android TV at the I/O conference