Google's multimedia streaming device Chromecast is now available in 11 more countries, including France, Germany and the U.K.
The Chromecast is a thumb-sized media streaming device that plugs into the HDMI port of a TV. Users can then send content content via a Wi-Fi network from YouTube, Google Play Movies, Google Play Music or Netflix using their smartphone, tablet or laptop.
Local content that can be viewed using the Chromecast includes BBC's iPlayer in the U.K.; France TV Pluzz and SFR TV in France with CanalPlay coming soon, and Watchever in Germany with Maxdome also coming soon, Google said in a blog post.
In addition to those countries, the Chromecast is now also available in Canada, Denmark, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden. It costs £30 (US$50) or €35 including tax, and is available from Amazon.com, Google Play, Currys PC World, Elkjøp, FNAC, Saturn and Media Markt, among other outlets.
Google hopes to bring the device to more countries soon.
The streaming hardware sector is getting increasingly crowded with TVs, set top boxes, game consoles and separate products like Roku all having integrated support for services like Netflix. But it seems like it is about to get even more crowded, with Amazon reported to be ready to launch its own device. The company already offers a streaming video service with Prime Instant Video.
To help differentiate the Chromecast from the competition Google is hoping to increase the number of apps that can run on it. The company released the Cast SDK last month and over 3,000 developers have signed up for it, Google said. How many applications that will result in remains to be seen. Amazon, on the other hand, is considering streaming games to set its product apart, according to rumors.
Chromecast works with Android tablets and smartphones; Apple's iPhones and iPads devices; the Chrome browser for Windows and Mac, and Google's own Chromebooks.
The Chromecast was originally launched in the U.S. in July last year.
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