Google Bows Chromecast, Vying for Video-Sharing Market With Samsung, Motorola

Pushing content from a mobile device to a TV screen -- a content-sharing feature that Samsung debuted in its AllShare technology at the Galaxy 4 launch last spring -- pushed further into the technology mainstream this week. Verizon and Motorola bowed a new family of Droid phones, including the Mini, Ultra and Maxx, with Wi-Fi Direct-based Miracast under the hood. And Google’s new Asus-built 7-inch Nexus 7 tablet -- announced Wednesday -- can be paired with a $35 device called Chromecast, which plugs into the USB port on an HDTV, enabling viewers to “cast” online content to the TV screen. Microsoft, meanwhile, announced embedded support for Miracast last spring in Windows 8.1.

It could be a steep climb for all of the technologies, said John Buffone, analyst with NPD Group. According to NPD data, 94 percent of smartphone and tablet users aren’t aware of Miracast since the certification of the technology last September. The primary challenges for all of the sharing technologies are “more or less the same,” Buffone said, including delivering features consumers want in an easy-to-use manner and generating awareness.

Google’s Chromecast works with Netflix, YouTube, Google Play Movies & TV, and Google Play Music, Google said. More apps, “like Pandora,” are coming soon, said Google’s Sundar Pichai, senior vice president-Android, Chrome & Apps, in a blog post, calling Chromecast an “easy solution” for viewing content from mobile devices on USB-equipped TVs throughout the house. Google is including a three-month free subscription to Netflix with the device, which could be a “small, but important positive” for Netflix subscriber growth in the second half, “depending on consumer excitement for Chromecast,” said BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield.

After connecting Chromecast, viewers can use a smartphone, tablet or laptop to browse and cast content to the TV, eliminating the need for a remote control for functions including play and pause and volume up or down. Users can multitask while casting programs -- send emails or surf the Web -- while watching TV, Pichai said. The device works across platforms including Android tablets and smartphones, iPhones and iPads and Chrome for Mac and Windows, with more to come, he said.

A new feature in the Chrome browser, currently in beta, allows viewers to project any browser tab to the TV, including images from a photo-sharing site or a video clip. “We're excited for people to try it out and give us their feedback,” Pichai said. Google has developed Google Cast, a technology that enables developers to build “consistent, intuitive” multiscreen experiences across mobile devices and TVs, Pichai said. Google launched a preview version of Google Cast for developers to incorporate into their apps, Pichai said. More supported apps are “coming soon,” and Google expects the technology to be embedded in hardware products in the future, he said.

The Chromecast device is available from Google Play, Amazon.com and BestBuy.com and will be in Best Buy stores beginning this Sunday. The Nexus 7, starting at $229, will be available in the U.S. July 30 from Best Buy, GameStop, Walmart, Staples, Office Max, Office Depot, Amazon, Home Shopping Network, RadioShack, J&R and B&H Photo. LTE versions of Nexus 7 from T-Mobile and Verizon will be available in the coming weeks, Pichai said.