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The new Pictionary has you drawing in thin air
It's not easy being a traditional board game manufacturer in these digital days, although some companies have taken pretty bold steps to bridge the gap between table-top and pixel-based play. Now Pictionary is doing the same with Pictionary Air, which takes your competitive sketching off the paper and puts it onto your phone, tablet or TV screen instead.
Google kills its Chromecast Audio dongle
If you've been thinking about whether to pick up a Chromecast Audio to make your audio setup a little smarter, you should probably make your mind up quickly. Google has confirmed it's discontinuing the device.
JBL targets spring arrival for its Android TV-powered Link Bar
JBL made a splash with it's Android TV-powered Google Assistant soundbar back at Google I/O, but the company wasn't able to ship the speaker before the end of 2018. Despite opening up pre-orders and rumblings of anticipated ship dates in the fall, the Link Bar has yet to make it's official debut. JBL is chatting up the device this week at CES, and part of the details include an updated timeline for when you might be able to grab one: spring 2019. The $399.95 soundbar and an optional $299.95 subwoofer are both expected to ship then.
Hacker forces Chromecasts and smart TVs to promote PewDiePie
The subscribe-to-PewDiePie hacking campaign continues unabated -- although it might have a positive side benefit this time around. TheHackerGiraffe (who perpetrated the earlier printer hack) has compromised thousands of Chromecast dongles, Google Home speakers and smart TVs to make them play a message that spreads both a security warning and PewDiePie propaganda. His script looks for compatible devices exposed to the internet through poorly configured routers, renames those devices to draw attention to them, and attempts to play a YouTube video warning victims to mend their ways. They're pointed to a web link (broken as of this writing) that offers help.
Amazon finally puts Google's Chromecast back on its virtual shelves
You can now get a Google Chromecast from Amazon just in time for Christmas. Sure, you can buy the streaming device from the Play shop and other retailers, but this could be a lot more convenient if you want to take advantage of Prime shipping. Amazon pulled Chromecast and Apple TV listings from its website back in 2015, citing their lack of Prime Video support. It promised to bring them back in December 2017 after the animosity between the companies started cooling down, but as Android Police noted, Chromecast listings showed that the devices were "Currently unavailable" until now.
Apple reportedly considered creating a Chromecast-style TV dongle
With a streaming service on the way, Apple has reportedly started looking for new ways to get its content in front of as many eyes as possible, including releasing a streaming dongle, according to The Information. The device would be in the style of Google's Chromecast or Amazon's Fire TV Stick and would bring the price down considerably from the cost of the $180 Apple TV set-top box.
You can now sync Chromecast with Google Home speakers
Starting today, Google is allowing Chromecast owners to add the streaming device to speaker groups along with Home speakers. The addition of the dongle to the Home ecosystem will allow you to queue up a song, playlist, podcast or audiobook and have it play in sync across all of the speakers and Chromecast-connected devices in your home.
Just tell Google Assistant to play Netflix on Android TVs
Until now, casting video to an Android TV through a Google Assistant-enabled device such as a Google Home or the new JBL soundbar has been a fairly simple affair. With the exception of playing Netflix, that is. Now, Google is finally changing that by allowing Google Assistant to play Netflix on Android TV devices.
Google's Home Hub is more like a Chromecast than an Android tablet
At first glance, Google's new Home Hub looks like any other smart display featuring the company's Assistant platform. It features both voice and touch inputs, giving consumers the option to manually control their smart home, watch YouTube videos and see appointments for the week ahead. However, underneath the hood, Google has done things a little differently. Unlike Lenovo, JBL and LG, Google's Home Hub doesn't run a stripped-down version of Android -- in fact, it's closer to a Chromecast.
Google's Chromecast gets a new look
Since its debut in 2013, Google's Chromecast has been the little streaming engine that could. It was cheap, at just $35, and gave consumers an easy way to stream video on older TVs. Now with its third-generation Chromecast (which was thoroughly leaked weeks ago), Google isn't changing the formula much. It's still $35, and it still relies on your phone as a remote control. While we initially thought the addition of 5GHz WiFi was new, it turns out that was also on the 2015 model. So really, this is just a slight design refresh, with matte cases instead of glossy ones.
Watch the Google Pixel 3 event here at 11 AM ET
It's almost here! The long-awaited Made By Google event is upon us, and you can catch the livestream right here. Just tune into the video below at 11 AM ET this morning and you can take a look at all the new products the company has to offer.
Best Buy inadvertently sold Google's next-gen Chromecast
Google is still having an absolutely lousy time keeping its October 9th announcements under wraps. Redditor GroveStreetHomie managed to buy the as yet unreleased third-generation Chromecast at a Best Buy that had mistakenly put it out for sale. Externally, it's more a subtle refresh of the 2015 model than a revolution -- it's still a puck-shaped dongle, just with a matte surface and the Chrome logo replaced with the virtually omnipresent "G" from newer devices. Inside, however, it might be more interesting.
Google Podcasts rolls out Cast support for everyone
When Google finally launched its dedicated Podcasts app for Android (an iOS version hasn't been released yet), we found it "pretty, but basic." The only way to turn around that reputation is to actually flesh out its list of features, and now that includes Google Cast support. With the button it's easier to tie in with Chromecast devices, Google Home or anything else supporting the protocol, and it's weird the app ever launched without it. 9to5Google notes that while it was available for some users earlier, it's widely available starting today, which Google confirmed to Engadget. It still might not match feature for feature with favorites like Pocket Casts, Stitcher or even Spotify, but for a free app it's in a better position to get the job done.
Google Assistant can now understand two languages at once
Today, Google announced that its smart assistant is now bilingual. While Google Assistant could already understand multiple languages, now you can speak two languages interchangeably and Assistant will be able to follow what you're saying. Supported languages include any pairing of English, German, French, Spanish, Italian and Japanese. More languages will be added in the next few months.
B&O's pricey Google Assistant speakers go on sale next month
When we saw Bang & Olufsen's Google-Assistant enabled BeoSound speaker at CES in January, they didn't have a price or street date. Seven months later, that's changed. Now we know the Google Assistant-enabled, 360-degree speakers will be available starting mid-September for the portable BeoSound 1, and early October for the BeoSound 2.
Google's next Chromecast may offer improved connectivity
Google may soon release a Chromecast with full Bluetooth support and sturdier WiFi connectivity, an FCC filing indicates. It seems likely the dongle will have the same design as the current version, with Google only making internal changes.
The best media streamers for dorm rooms
If you've decided having a TV in your dorm room is worth it to you, the next logical step is to hook up all your streaming services. Unless you've sprung for a smart television, you'll want to pick up a device that will let you watch media from your Netflix, HBO, Hulu and other subscription accounts. Lucky for your student budget, they're relatively inexpensive and almost all of the options are good ones.
Five years later, the Chromecast still holds its own
There aren't many gadgets that I'm still using five years after I buy them, except for maybe a laptop. Even then, that's getting quite long in the tooth given how quickly upgrades arrive these days. Chromecast and Google Cast are still things that I use multiple times a day, every day. When Google introduced the Chromecast in 2013, the company promised to make any TV with an HDMI port a smart display with the combination of a thumb-drive-like dongle and your home WiFi. That it did, but in the months that followed, Google expanded the tech undergirding its TV accessory well beyond that $35 device.
What you need to know before building a HiFi system
The process of building a stereo can be overwhelming. Should you buy new gear or trawl the local stereo shop for vintage equipment? Do you need a subwoofer for music? Are high-end speaker cables really going to make a difference in sound? It's no wonder, then, that smart speakers have become so popular: They're available in a variety of sizes and, when paired with a music streaming subscription, are a simple way to access a world of music. But the trade-off for that convenience is sound quality. While an Echo or HomePod is perfect for listening to podcasts, it can't stack up to the power and fidelity you get with a traditional stereo. If you're looking to upgrade, rather than ponying up $500 for a single Google Home Max, consider an alternative solution: building your own stereo HiFi system. While the initial setup and research are more intensive than simply telling Alexa to order more Echo Dots, after it's done you'll have a much more versatile -- not to mention better-sounding -- way to listen to music at home.
Google Home and Chromecast are down for some users (update: fix)
'Tis the season for large-scale service outages, apparently. Google has confirmed that many Home speaker and Chromecast users around the world are unable to use their devices, even after a reboot. The company didn't say why, and didn't have an estimated time of repair as of this writing. However, the issue has been inconsistent -- my Home Mini could respond to commands, while TechCrunch colleagues received an error.
