Google's Nexus Player officially hits the UK on March 26th for £80
Google successfully invaded living rooms everywhere with its simple and cheap Chromecast dongle, and late last year announced its next product bound to the big screen: the Nexus Player. Running the TV-friendly version of Android OS, it does everything the Chromecast can and more, being a dedicated set-top box that doesn't require other devices to control it. With a nifty voice search feature and second job as an Android mini-console when paired with the gamepad accessory, it's Google's attempt to take on the Rokus, Apple TVs and Fire TVs of this world (the latter also having console functionality). And after a few months of being available stateside, it appears to be officially launching in the UK on March 26th for the agreeable price of £80.
That info comes to us via Amazon, which has been taking preorders for the Nexus Player for the best part of a week. You have been able to pick up he hardware through resellers before now, but the Amazon listing indicates a more official release at a better, standardised price. We don't know exactly how much the gamepad accessory will cost at this point, however. In our review of the device, we praised the user interface and Google Cast functionality, but weren't crazy about other aspects like its limited storage capacity and closed-off search feature. At £80, though, it's worth looking at if you haven't invested in a similar product, but have a mind to. It's somewhat strange to see a preorder listing on Amazon and nothing on Google's own Store (not that it hasn't happened before), but we've reached out to Google just in case there's anything else we need to know before the March 26th launch date.
Update: The Amazon listing has since been taken down, and no word from Google as yet. We very much doubt the preorder page was unfounded, though, so we'd bet our lunch money that the Nexus Player will indeed launch later this week.
Update II: Right on cue, Google has formally announced the Nexus Player is available in the UK from today. While the big G says you can pick one up from Argos, Amazon, John Lewis, Currys, PC World, eBuyer or from its own online store, Argos is currently the only site with a live product listing. The Player itself has a price tag of £80, with the optional gamepad accessory setting you back another £35.
[Thanks, Andy]
[Image credit: Will Lipman]
