Get a Chromecast

My latest little gadget is a popular item out by Google called the Chromecast. Chromecast is a product in a category that is not by any means new, its the home entertainment industry. The tidy little HDMI dongle plugs into your TV and allows you to play movies, TV shows, music, etc. from your tablet, smartphone, or computer, onto the screen. Essentially it turns your TV into a smart TV. The best part about this little device? Its just $35. Compare an $800 TV with  $35 Chromecast to a $1300 smart TV, and the winner of that battle is pretty clear. You should buy one.

The Chromecast is a clean little dongle that is incredibly easy to set up. You literally plug it into your TV, name it, and connect it to your Wi-Fi. Then you simply download an app on one of your other devices, and voila! You just got a smart TV for $35. I used to have a competitor product called the NeoTV. This device came in the form of a small box with a remote. This was much more laborious to set up, because it was a lot slower. The beauty of the Chromecast is that it is cheap because it runs of of the existing hardware in your device. That means if your device is halfway decent, then the Chromecast will perform extremely well. The NeoTV's major fault was that the hardware was awful, so if you wanted to stream something, you had to go through the really cheap hardware that was built in. Coincidentally, my NeoTV broke a couple months after the release of the Chromecast, so I was able to upgrade for free through the factory warranty on the old device.

The other thing about Chromecast that makes it a product that you should buy as soon as possible is that it is insanely cheaper than other devices. For example, the Apple TV, $100. Roku 3, $100. My crappy NeoTV, same price. As long as you're an inhabitant in modern society and have an existing computer, phone, or tablet, the Chromecast is the best possible option for a smart TV alternative. That's another main reason I liek the Chromecast, because you can operate it with devices that you are already familiar with and use all the time. On the NeoTV, I had a remote that didn't work very well and which I didn't really ever get familiar with. With the Chromecast, I get on my iPad or my Moto X and use the features that I am in contact with daily. Its a far better user experience.

I hope that this has convinced you to get a Chromecast. I've only had mine a couple of weeks, and I can tell you that its the easiest device I've ever used. No hassle setting it up, no hassle using it. If you want a smart TV, heck, if you have a TV, get a Chromecast and you will not regret it at all.