Google Chromecast: Bringing Streaming Media from your Phone or PC to Your TV

Google Chromecast: See it, Stream It

Cast Your Media from Your Phone and PC to Your TV

Today, we have a sponsored post, brought to you by Best Buy, talking about the latest model of the Google Chromecast.  For those unfamiliar with the Chromecast, it is a small dongle designed to turn any HDMI compatible TV into a Smart TV, bringing internet capabilities to your favorite television set.  

Similar to a Roku or Fire TV stick, the Chromecast plugs into an HDMI port on your TV, and allows you to access online content through a "regular" TV.  However, the Chromecast also allows you to stream media from a PC, Tablet, Smartphone, or other mobile device to that television set, a feature the other streaming devices do not have.

Once you have plugged the Chromecast into the HDMI port on your TV, you use your phone, tablet, or computer to cast your favorite TV shows, movies, music, sports, games, and more to the TV you already own. Chromecast works with your iPhone®, iPad®, Android device, Apple® computer, Windows laptop or Chromebook. 

Chromecast is designed to make the most of the apps and entertainment already on your phone. Shows, movies, live TV, YouTube, photos and more are all just a tap away from all of your family’s devices.  Chromecast also lets you use popular apps, like Netflix and Hulu, without having to have an app-capable TV.  And you get all of this for $35.

Fire TV Cube vs the Harmony Hub for TV Voice Control

Amazon Introduces the Fire TV Cube

Combines the Features of an Amazon Echo, Fire TV Stick and Harmony Hub in One Device; Adds Voice Control to Your TV and Components

How Does it Compare to the Harmony Hub?

 

Amazon has announced a new version of their Fire TV, called the Fire TV Cube.  This new device adds voice control to your TV and audio-visual components, much like a Harmony Hub.  But the Fire TV Cube takes things a step further, adding control for other Smart Home devices into the mix.  It's almost like the Amazon Echo, the Fire TV Stick, a Harmony Hub, and a Smart Home Hub all got together and had a baby.

What is the Fire TV Cube?

The Fire TV Cube is a small box, (approximately 3.5 inches square,) that connects to your TV via HDMI, and adds Alexa Voice Control to your TV and associated Entertainment Devices.  With the Fire TV Cube, you can turn the TV on and off, change channels, adjust volume, pause, rewind, change inputs, and much more, all via voice.  Unlike a Fire TV Stick, the Fire TV Cube includes a built-in Echo as well as a Voice Remote.  You can issue voice commands through the remote, or hands free.

The Echo Dot Kids Edition: Meet Alexa Junior

Amazon Introduces an Echo Dot Designed Specifically for Youngsters;
Meet Alexa Junior, the Kid-Friendly Echo Device

Includes Kid-Friendly Skills, Curated Entertainment,  and Parental Controls

Little kids seem to love Alexa and her family of voice controlled devices.  Parents and grandparents often use Alexa to help keep children entertained.  But as Alexa was initially designed for adults, she is not always child-friendly, right out of the box.  Often, users have enabled adult-oriented skills that they do not necessarily want tots to access.

I know a woman who is both a metalhead and a Grandma.  Her Amazon music library is full of songs with explicit lyrics she'd never intentionally play around young, developing ears.  Once, she was in the kitchen fixing a snack for the children, when she was interrupted by the sounds of Staind emanating from Alexa.  She ran out of the kitchen and yanked out the plug. Something her grandkids had said prompted Alexa to start playing the song "Please," which is riddled with the F Word.  

My friend loves her Echo, and so do her grandkids. But the "Staind Incident" has prompted her to put her Echos away when the grandchildren visit, so they are not inadvertently exposed to adult lyrics or adult jokes.  The Echo Dot Kids Edition is here to address issues like hers.  

The Amazon Dash Wand: Alexa's Newest Sibling

The Amazon Dash Wand

Amazon's New, Alexa-Enabled Kitchen Assistant

A little over two weeks ago, Amazon introduced the newest member of its Alexa Family: The Dash Wand.  The Dash Wand is marketed as a Smart Assistant for your kitchen. At about the size of a dollar bill, the Dash Wand is the smallest, most portable, and least expensive member of the Alexa family.  It is only $20, and for now at least, Prime Members get a $20 Amazon Credit when they activate the wand. That makes it essentially free.  I managed to get my hands on a Dash Wand before they went on Backorder. I am going to review The Wand for you today.

What is the Dash Wand?

Last year, Amazon introduced its Dash Buttons, which make reordering a single product from Amazon even easier.  The Dash buttons cost $5 each. As single-function devices, I'm not sure the Dash buttons ever really caught on. So Amazon sweetened the pot by adding a $5 credit for the first Dash purchase, and then even reducing the price to $1. They still languished. Personally, I do not know anyone who uses a Dash, despite the fact they're practically free. I haven't even bothered getting one for novelty's sake. So Amazon came up with a better, multi-tasking sibling.

Now, Amazon has introduced the new Dash Wand. Unlike the buttons, you can use a Dash Wand to order any product Amazon carries.  If you want to order a specific product, you can scan a barcode, and Amazon will add that product to your cart. You can also press a button and voice-order a product. I'll discuss how well that works later in this article.

The Dash Wand is designed to be a Kitchen Assistant. As such, it is water-resistant. It is also magnetic so you can stick it on your fridge

The Dash Wand also has Alexa built in, or more like Alexa Lite.  Although The Dash Wand does a lot of things an Echo or Dot can do, it does not do them all.  So depending on your needs, it's probably not a replacement for a full Alexa-enabled device. However, if you're curious, or you're looking for something to extend your Alexa network, the Dash Wand is great for that.  It is probably the least expensive way to try Alexa's assistant capabilities.