Apples denies Google’s request to add Chromecast Audio compatibility with Apple Music
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Despite the fact that Google and Apple are bitter rivals, Google has somewhat opened its doors to its timeless enemy of late, introducing Android Wear compatibility on iOS. That’s as close as we’re going to get a peace greeting from either side, but when Google asked Apple whether they could add Chromecast Audio compatibility with Apple Music, they were denied. We’re sure there are many reasons why Apple would want to do this, but considering iOS supports Chromecast, we’re confused why they wouldn’t consider it for the sake of convenience – the convenience of their users might I add.
In case you missed the memo – because we sure did – the Chromecast Audio is pretty much a Chromecast for speaker systems, adding the capability to stream audio from any supported (or non-supported) app to the Chromecast Audio over Wi-Fi. It’s brilliantly convenient, as the original Chromecast was, and is pretty much perfect for all the music streaming services out there, Apple Music included. No doubt there are some power plays happening behind this all and we’re not expecting a straight answer out of Apple on this issue, but it’s kind of a bummer that Apple isn’t ready to play ball yet – the terrible Move to iOS app doesn’t count.
What do you think about Chromecast Audio compatibility with Apple Music? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Trusted Reviews via Phandroid
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Amazon to stop selling Google’s Chromecast, Apple TV and others come October 29
From Google’s second-generation Chromecast to the recently-announced Apple TV, media streamers have been really improving as of late. Unfortunately you won’t be able to purchase these devices from a certain major online retailer come October 29th, as Amazon has just revealed that it will stop selling Google’s Chromecast and other devices that don’t play nicely with Amazon’s Prime Video service. In an email sent to its marketplace sellers earlier today, Amazon said that starting today, no new listings for these products will be posted and that all existing inventory will be removed on Thursday, October 29th.
Here is Amazon’s official statement on the matter:
Over the last three years, Prime Video has become an important part of Prime. It’s important that the streaming media players we sell interact well with Prime Video in order to avoid customer confusion. Roku, XBOX, PlayStation and Fire TV are excellent choices.
Amazon just recently announced its new Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, which of course play nicely with Prime Video. It’s not out of the ordinary for an online retailer to stop selling competitors’ products, but it’s still a shame that a retailer as large as Amazon is choosing to go this route. As of right now, only sales of the Google Chromecast, Apple TV and Nexus Player are affected, though we’re not sure if this change will go into effect for other Android TV devices.
Apple TV and Chromecast getting banned from Amazon to “avoid customer confusion” with Prime Video compatibility
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What do you do when you are an enormous online retailer who just so happens to provide hardware and services of their own? Well, firstly you stop allowing the primary competition to sell their products through your site. At least, that is part of the story coming from third-party vendors about an email that was sent out from Amazon. It would appear that Amazon will be banning all new Apple TV
“Over the last three years, Prime Video has become an important part of Prime,” the message read, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. “It’s important that the streaming media players we sell interact well with Prime Video in order to avoid customer confusion.”
According to that message, it would appear that Amazon is flexing its muscles a bit. I am sure it has something to do with some of the other announcements Amazon has made recently, like the CBS deal from this morning, mixed with Google Play Movies & TV / Apple TV not being supported by Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick. What is truly interesting, is that Amazon Prime Video is Android and iOS compatible, but Amazon is playing hardball on making their own app for the service compatible with Chromecast or Apple TV stating that “Prime Video doesn’t work well with its rivals’ products.” That argument seems pretty thin at best in this technological day and age. It would seem a bit more accurate if they said “We won’t support them, so we aren’t going to sell them. Buy a Roku, Fire TV or Fire TV Stick
I doubt we will see Amazon stocks plumet, but they could renig on the whole thing by the end of the month. If they are worried about “customer confusion” as they say, they could simply make it blatantly obvious on the purchase page the device a customer is buying does not support Prime Video. We shall see where it goes from here.
Source: BloombergBusiness Via SlashGear
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Amazon pulling Apple TV and Chromecast over Prime Video support
Say goodbye to Prime shipping of the Apple TV and Chromecast. In an email obtained by Bloomberg, Amazon informed marketplace sellers that it would no longer allow the sale of the two devices after October 29. The reason is that they don’t offer easy access Amazon Prime Video. An Amazon spokesperson told Engadget, “over the last three years, Prime Video has become an important part of Prime. It’s important that the streaming media players we sell interact well with Prime Video in order to avoid customer confusion. Roku, XBOX, PlayStation and Fire TV are excellent choices.” Apple TV has yet to add the service and to watch the Prime videos on the Chromecast is less than ideal. The company is keen on making sure its customers are completely intertwined in its services. Apparently the Apple TV and Chromecast didn’t offer the interoperability needed to stay in the store.
Source: Bloomberg
Amazon reportedly banning sales of competitors’ streaming devices, including Chromecast
A new report coming by way of Bloomberg indicates that Amazon will banning the sale of its competitors streaming devices on its e-commerce website. If the report ends up being true, consumers will no longer be able to find video streaming devices from Google or Apple.
Bloomberg says:
No new listings for the products will be allowed and posting of existing inventory will be removed Oct. 29, Amazon said [in an email to marketplace sellers]. Amazon’s streaming video service, called Prime Video, doesn’t run easily on rival’s devices.”Over the last three years, Prime Video has become an important part of Prime,” Amazon said in the e-mail. “It’s important that the streaming media players we sell interact well with Prime Video in order to avoid customer confusion.”
It makes a lot of sense for Amazon to ban the sale of its competitors’ video streaming devices, however, there’s not telling if it’ll actually boost sales. Streaming on Prime has always been frustrating, largely due to technical difficulties or not having the content consumers want.
Either way, if you want to pick up Google’s HDMI Chromecast dongle, you’ll have to do so from the Google Store or via some other retailer from now on.
source: Bloomberg
Come comment on this article: Amazon reportedly banning sales of competitors’ streaming devices, including Chromecast
YouTube Kids streams content on Chromecast, Apple TV and more
YouTube’s kid-friendly app arrived earlier this year, delivering a library of age-appropriate content for younger viewers. Now, the streaming software is moving beyond mobile devices. YouTube Kids is now available on your television, streaming to Chromecast, Apple TV, game consoles and smart TVs. There’s also new curated playlists from the likes of National Geographic Kids and tools for parents that help you learn the app and tweak the password. Perhaps most importantly, you won’t have to give up your phone or tablet when junior wants to catch up on the latest episodes.
Source: YouTube Blog
Google Photos newly updated with Chromecast support and other features
Google promised some new features for its Photos app, and today they delivered by updating the Android application.
The biggest new feature is Chromecast support for getting your photos on a television or other big screen. This seems like a long overdue feature, but it goes hand in hand with the announcement of Google’s new Chromecast devices yesterday.
Aside from casting support, the app also now has custom labels for people in your photos. You can tag certain people with a specific (private) tag that makes it easier to find pictures with that person easier in the future. It’s a step beyond the traditional tagging system that tons of photo backup options offer now.
This update also lays the groundwork for Google’s upcoming shared albums feature through Google Photos. Anyone with a smartphone and the app can add photos to these albums, which will be extremely useful for friends, families, and any group of people that typically share pictures around.
Hit the link below to grab the update.
Come comment on this article: Google Photos newly updated with Chromecast support and other features
Google’s secret strategy for controlling your home
Yesterday in San Francisco, Google launched a pair of new smartphones, some AV devices and a Surface-like tablet. But future events could just as easily devote a large portion of their running time to the Internet of Things and smart home devices. Tilt your head by 90 degrees and you can almost spot Google’s subtle strategy to become the dominant name in your home — after all, as the phone market begins to play itself out, it’s only natural that the firm would move onto the next big thing. After years of lingering on the periphery of the industry, perhaps souped-up lightbulbs and thermostats are ready for their day in the sun.
But first, let’s consider the Chromecast, which is one of many options in the stripped-down smart-TV-dongle market. Unlike its rivals, the device doesn’t ship with a remote, so users are compelled to learn how to control their TVs from their phones. History has shown that the fastest way to get over the scare factor when a new technology comes along is to, somehow, relate it to the home entertainment experience. The best example is how Nintendo styled the Wii controllers to look like TV remotes so that people wouldn’t be intimidated to use them. But Google is hoping that the ubiquity of smartphones and the hardware’s dirt-cheap, almost throwaway price will wean people away from dedicated remotes.
It’s the same situation with the Chromecast Audio, since there are multitudes of wireless audio adapters that’ll bolt onto your existing HiFi setup. Google is betting that you’d much prefer to upgrade your current hardware for $35, rather than the $350 it’d cost for a Sonos Connect. But again, the smartphone is becoming the center of your home entertainment experience at the expense of dedicated controllers. For that little money, people who wouldn’t otherwise have bothered will take the leap based just on Google’s brand alone. Either way, they’re being gently, stealthily, encouraged to use their phones to run their homes.
But a smart TV and a slightly smarter HiFi setup won’t be able to establish Google as the king of the smart home hill on their own. That’s where OnHub comes in, because the $200 router promises to end your poor WiFi signal woes once and for all. Tucked inside that canister, however, are Bluetooth, Weave and ZigBee radios that are all lying dormant, ready to be activated in a future software update. It’s not outside the realm of possibility that Google could enable its smartphones to run all compatible smart home products, like Philips’ Hue bulbs.
By the end of this year, Google will release Brillo, a stripped-down version of Android that’s designed for the smart home. This will be paired with Weave, a Nest-developed protocol that, as mentioned, is also baked into OnHub and can control other Internet of Things devices. It’s not too much to think that Nest users will opt for new Brillo devices since it’ll work seamlessly with their existing tech. It doesn’t matter much if they don’t, either, since OnHub can also work with ZigBee devices. In which case, it’s possible that Google could push an app out that’d take over every device in your home.
Imagine a situation where Google Now knows when you’re driving home from work and kicks up the temperature accordingly. If you have HDMI-CEC enabled then your Chromecast could have the TV tuned to your favorite Netflix show by the time you’re through the door. Given the rapidly falling price of smart lightbulbs, the lights could automatically dim when you sit down on the couch. Hell, this setup could even start pre-heating your oven so that your DiGiorno pizza can be on your table 20 minutes after you get through the door. It may sound like madness right now, but next year’s Nexus event could have a whole lot more Brillo in it.
[Video] Catch on yesterday’s Google event right here
Yesterday’s Nexus event saw a whole bunch of new devices and services announced by Google, it was engrossing stuff. Google didn’t waste any time at all, moving from one device launch to another, bada-bing-bada-boom. But wait, did you miss the proceedings? Don’t sweat it, you can watch the Nexus announcement in its entirety because Google has uploaded the event to YouTube. And, because we are nice like that, we’ve handily embedded the video after the break.
In the video you can watch Google announce the following devices, apps, and services:
- Nexus 5X
- Nexus 6P
- Android 6.0 Marshmallow
- Chromecast 2015
- Chromecast Audio
- Updated Chromecast App
- Updated Google Photos
- Pixel tablet
- Nexus Protect
- Play Music Family Plan
Enjoy!
Click here to view the embedded video.
Come comment on this article: [Video] Catch on yesterday’s Google event right here
Google announces a new Chromecast, now more colourful and includes “Fast Play”
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We first heard about the new Chromecast in a series of horribly blurry, leaked photos, but thankfully Google has announced the real deal today, and we have to say it actually looks pretty good. If you’re wondering what could possibly have changed between the old and new Chromecasts, you’ll be able to stream high definition media faster than before. There’s also been the addition of a feature called “Fast Play”, which essentially loads content before you’ve started playing it. Of course, there’s also the elephant in the room which is that the new Chromecast is available in three colours this time around – black, red and yellow – and its design is more of a round attachment rather than a dongle.
To complement the release of the new Chromecast, Google is updating the Chromecast app with some nifty new features, such as being able to see which of your apps have Chromecast compatibility. However, the best news among all of this is that the new Chromecast will remain at its original $35 USD price, making it once again one of the best value media streaming options around.
What do you think about the new Chromecast? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: engadget
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