Google is hoping to do for streaming audio what it did for streaming video.
In addition to its new Chomecast media player, the company has released a device called Chromecast Audio that promises to make it cheap and easy for consumers to enjoy digital music, podcasts and the like in their homes.
I like the new gadget, although it could use some more work.
As with Chromecast, you control Chromecast Audio with a phone, tablet or computer, beaming songs or podcasts to it. But while Chromecast plugs into the HDMI port on a TV, Chromecast Audio connects to a speaker or stereo system through an auxiliary port or other audio port.
In some ways Chromecast Audio, which is just $35, is a big improvement on the status quo. Most speakers that allow users to stream digital music from their smartphones rely on Bluetooth connections, which can be spotty, hard to configure and difficult to connect to more than one device.
Others, such as Sonos systems, that allow users to stream music directly to them over Wi-Fi, typically cost hundreds of dollars. Another alternative, Apple s AirPort Express, costs nearly three times as much as Chromecast Audio and its streaming music feature doesn t work with non-Apple phones or tablets.
Chromecast Audio, by contrast, is not only inexpensive, but it works with both Apple devices and Android-based ones. And it s easy to use more than one device to beam content to it.
When the original Chromecast launched, it worked with few apps. Not so Chromecast Audio. Many of the most popular music apps, including Spotify, Rdio and Pandora, can already stream audio directly to Chromecast Audio.
It still has some holes in its lineup — neither Apple Music nor YouTube, which houses thousands of music videos, will stream to it. But on Android devices, you can often work around these limitations by using the Cast feature built into their operating system that allows you to mirror what s on their screens or coming through their speakers.
The audio in my tests sounded very good — smooth and clear. As with Chromecast, the streams are generally sent directly to Chromecast Audio from the Internet, so they don t eat up the battery on your phone.
The biggest limitation is Chromecast Audio doesn t yet support the ability to stream to multiple speakers at one time. So you can t yet use it as a whole-home audio system.
But if you ve got an existing sound system, the $35 gadget makes a cool way to bring digital music and audio into your home.
Photo: Google s Chromecast Audio streaming audio player (Troy Wolverton/Mercury News).
The post Wolverton: Chromecast Audio is a cool, cheap way to stream digital music at home appeared first on SiliconBeat.
