Nexus Q media streaming ball

Google briefly exposed its Nexus Q media streaming box—or, rather, a ball—today at the Google Play store before taking the page down. An official announcement will likely come at today's Google I/O conference. In the meantime, we can muse on the specs: 4.6" in diameter, it weighs 2 pounds and has a dual-core ARM Cortex CPU. It has 1GB of RAM and 16GB of flash storage. At the back, there are there are the following holes: Micro HDMI, TOSLink, Ethernet, Micro USB and banana jack speakers. It will be $300 when it ships, with optional $400 speakers (wow) and $50 speaker cables (lol). [Ars]

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MORE: Gadgets • media streaming • nexus

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scolbath

John Markoff is on it:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/28/technology/google-and-others-give-manufacturing-in-the-us-a-try.html

“Made in USA”. Interesting.
fuzzyfuzzyfungus

Wait… Somebody took the guts of a generic smartphone in the 200-400 dollar range, omitted the pricey touchscreen, and proceeded to charge $300 for it?

This, at the same time that a $99 Google TV is being announced?

Lolwut?
- razen cain
  
  I think I figured it out.
spoonerist

I believe it’s also an amplifier, hence the speaker connections. I think they’re trying to bring back the “hi-fi” era…
- http://theladyfingers.blogspot.com/ Ladyfingers
  
  As one of those hi-fi dudes Boingers love to hate, I can assure you this device is intensely unappealing to me in nearly every way.
  - http://twitter.com/KnightNZ Steve Wells
    
    But it has sparkly lights…
    
    I suspect the target demographic is people not interested in musical fidelity, but rather who want to have something pretty they can have out at parties for people to try and play music through. Something that looks nice front-on but awful as soon as you notice the plethora of cabling hanging out the back of it.
    - http://daruiburns.tumblr.com/ Dlo Burns
      
      Hey buddy I like cables. But then again I love H R Geiger.
- http://twitter.com/KnightNZ Steve Wells
  
  Any amplifier that small is not going to power anything bigger than computer speakers, or at least, not with any quality. It’d be useful as a preamp mainly, unless you’ve got a tiny room.
http://theladyfingers.blogspot.com/ Ladyfingers

What an absolutely horrible device. Stupid shape, contains extraneous electronics for its target market (amp), no integral interface, horrible blue LEDs everywhere.

I’ll keep my Squeezebox Touch, thanks.
http://twitter.com/incarnedine_v Dan Hibiki

Naked man distributing guns to dead people sold separately.
- deviousasti
  
  +1
  Though I don’t think anybody else got the reference.
http://twitter.com/fossilfuels Funk Daddy

Assembled+ in the USA, it’s a start anyway, good heaps of praise on them for that.

Too bad I don’t buy round devices, though I understand the weight of this one would do away with half of my complaint about round top-only devices. With a heavy base it probably won’t topple for being brushed against or pulled gently by cables. Had round baby monitor that was the worst-thing-ever given that any screw up in that department can put you back a square one getting the lil one to sleep. I cracked that thing open without hurting the guts in a fit of anger, that was the last time it rolled off the windowsill and woke a baby.

Still, it has to be on top to work? What is this thing, my gf from HS?

Gimme something I can build into the desk, wall or shelf component. I haven’t been into cool cases/components since I modded my last Liam-li… 13 years ago? As that volume control integrated into the case is probably not the only volume control I guess it’s okay.

Not really complaining, there’s a million devices out there and plenty for me, this just ain’t one of them.
- http://twitter.com/agraham999 agraham999
  
  Assembled in the USA of parts from origins unknown.
- Wallace
  
  I don’t get it. What’s the advantage of it being assembled in UHMURRIKU.
  - Antinous / Moderator
    
    A few less of our citizens are unemployed. That’s certainly an advantage for them.
    - Wallace
      
      For them yes, but what has that got to do with us non-uhmerricuns?
      - http://twitter.com/fossilfuels Funk Daddy
        
        It’s got to do with any nation of that size or any body sovereign people keeping the ability and practice of manufacture for their own benefits rather than the current trend of considering only costs and shareholders.
Michael Robinson

What problem is this device solving?
- http://www.disoriented.net/ angusm
  
  Google’s long run of successful innovation.
That_Anonymous_Coward

Cables by Monster.
- http://twitter.com/KnightNZ Steve Wells
  
  And amplifier by Bose.
haineux

OK, what does it DO? Is this an answer to AirPlay?
- TheKaz1969
  
  I am sure that’s part of it. It appears that it will be a hub or piece of their @ Home initiative, as well. Not a fan of the shape, and I am guessing they released this before having other pieces of the system to fully integrate with as a response to AirPlay.
  
  At least they are encouraging hackers to go at it with this device. My guess is they are also hoping that the Android community will continue to make this do more and more.
pescho

I don’t get it. What are they thinking? Is the idea here to take the notion of an app one step further and create a dedicated, physical appliance? I already have a toaster. I think they are compensating for something…
haineux

Also, Google, you are geeks. You should be fighting the Monster Cable bullshit. Instead you are being ridiculed for it.
http://mooseyard.com/Jens Jens Alfke

So this is basically equivalent to a Raspberry Pi with a cool-looking case, at 10x the cost? No thanks.
- TheKaz1969
  
  depends on your definition of “basically equivalent”, but for most definitions, not really.
jerwin

Micro HDMI? Why? Is a display optional?
insert

Is this just a computer running a simplified MPD (music player daemon)?
- http://twitter.com/KnightNZ Steve Wells
  
  It’s running a version of Android, so basically, yes.
Halloween_Jack

I’m wondering what this does that an Apple TV doesn’t do at a third of its price.
- http://twitter.com/KnightNZ Steve Wells
  
  Other than having a low-end amplifier, not very much.
Culturedropout

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWNNNNNNN…
http://twitter.com/writebastard Ian Wood

I don’t care what it does. If I can’t stack other things on top if it, it is dead to me. Like Jack Webb.
krylon

Something else to awkwardly lay atop of my media center with all my oddly shaped videogame machines while my DVD player and audio components stack nicely INSIDE the actual media center. Seriously though this thing looks like a crappy industry award given by an organization no one (even inside said industry) has ever heard of. ”And the award for best unusable widget in a non-supportable role goes to … GOOGLE!”

Finally: does anyone feel like both this and Microsoft’s recent announcements revolved around products they have no intention of actually selling many of and have been tantamount to showing their partners how to make an actual product using their OS’s?
OoerictoO

i think what most are missing is that this thing plays VIDEO, as well as audio. but a boxee is still way cheaper/usable. just not made in the USA
crackerzack

Bah, i want my video playing thing to fit in my pocket:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/484889112/the-pocket-tv-makes-any-tv-a-smart-tv?ref=category