THE FIRST GOOGLE ROUND-UP of 2015 means it's still a bit early for major technical changes, but that doesn't mean that nothing is going on. Oh, no.A CES-focused update brings news of a new standard for casting audio premiered at CES, a tweak to Hangouts to bring it in line with WhatsApp and a quick look at what's coming up.First though, Sony, Sharp and Philips are among the companies to commit to Android TV, the new platform which marks the formal end to Google TV, the company's first attempt at a platform for televisions.Android TV takes a back-to-basics approach to the service, offering Android on a big screen and Google Cast integration. So there's loads to recommend it for those of us already heavily embedded in the Android ecosystem.If you don't fancy a new TV right now, Razer and Huawei will be offering set-top boxes for the service later in the year. The Razer Forge TV is aimed at gaming, for that huge library you already have, and streaming of PC titles.But it's not just video. Google Cast for Audio adds the option for manufacturers to create speakers that seamlessly work with apps including Deezer, Google Play Music and TuneIn - no middle man, just straight to the speaker.If we have one criticism of the Google Cast standard it's that it's completely proprietary, whereas something based on DLNA or Miracast opens the service up to millions more devices.But with Sony, LG and Denon already aboard, it looks like 'Cast Ready' could start to become a buying decision for your next WiFi speaker.Away from CES and a couple of other bits that happened while we were preoccupied with figgy pudding.Hangouts has added a 'last seen message' to chats in common with a number of other instant messengers such as WhatsApp so you can see whether your contact is actually active, or has left their phone down the side of the sofa.Also new to the iOS version is the ability to post a custom status or mood message, bringing it in line with other platforms.There's little to report in terms of app updates this early in the year, but we can expect the coming weeks to include the last vestiges of Holo being replaced by Material on stock apps, and moreAndroid apps being released on Chrome as the company continues to converge its consumer products. µ
Comments
Post a Comment