It hasn’t even been out a week but the seemingly frenzied response to Google’s Chromecast video streaming dongle is already motivating companies to get into gear and organize support for the device.
According to a GigaOM report Monday, Vimeo is keen to get involved with Google’s new offering, evidenced by comments from the video streaming site’s VP of mobile, Nick Alt, who said, “We’re excited about the emerging opportunities bridging mobile to Connected TV and we look forward to offering Chromecast support in our products.”
Verizon’s recently launched Redbox Instant and media center maker Plex have reportedly also voiced their intention to offer support for Google’s new gadget. The Mountain View company has already said Pandora, AOL, and the Washington Post are working to become part of the platform, and it’s been suggested HBO Go could be coming soon, too. Expect the floodgates to open anytime now, if they haven’t already.
Sold out
Chromecast, which launched at a special event in San Francisco last week, currently streams Netflix, YouTube, Google Play content and Web pages (via Google’s Chrome browser) from computers and Android/iOS devices to HDTVs.
Easy to use and costing only $35, the Chromecast device quickly caught the imagination of consumers in search of a simple and wallet-friendly solution for bringing streamed content to their big-screen TVs, so much so that in the US – the only country where it’s currently available – it’s virtually impossible to get hold of one. The Google Play store, Best Buy, and Amazon are all selling the dongle, though if you want one you’ll need to be quick off the mark when new stock comes in.
The device launched with a special promotion – not that it needed one, of course – offering three months of free Netflix, though the deal ended within 24 hours of Chromecast’s launch due to “overwhelming demand”. An NBC news report suggested that almost a quarter of a million Netflix promo codes had been created by the time the deal was pulled, though no official word has come from Google or Netflix on specific numbers.
