Well folks, it was certainly a big week in the Android world. People were finally able to get a better look at the latest and greatest offerings from Google to the mobile technology world after they revealed their Nexus 6 smartphone and Nexus 9 tablet. Rumours have been swirling about the appearance and specifications of these two devices for months so people had a pretty good idea of what to expect from them. What many people didn’t expect, however, was Google’s announcement that they’re also releasing a rather curious device called the Nexus Player. Meant to compete with similar devices from Apple and Amazon, the Nexus Player is a TV box that basically allows someone to bring the entire Android universe to their television.
The Nexus Player was posted onto the Google Play Store for pre-order along with the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 shortly after they were revealed, but not too long after that the Nexus Player’s status changed much to everyone’s surprise. It turned out that it had yet to meet the approval of the FCC, which forced Google to delay its official availability. Today, however, it has been announced that the Nexus Player has gotten the thumbs-up from the FCC so, one would have to assume, it should be available for pre-order again in no time.
The Nexus Player will retail for $99 and is meant to be paired with the yet to be released Android TV platform. It is manufactured by Asus and has a a 1.8 GHz Intel Atom quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, 802.11ac WiFi, and Bluetooth 4.1. It will also be paired with a remote control that supports voice search and there will be an option for people to purchase a $40 gamepad for those who may want to play Android games on their television. The Nexus Player will also function similarly to that of Google’s Chromecast, which means users will be able to send online streaming content to their televisions. As stated earlier, Google has not revealed a specific time when the Nexus Player will again be available for pre-order but one would have to think it’ll be fairly soon. In the meantime, what does everyone think about the Nexus Player? Will it be a worthy competitor to similar devices that have been released by Google’s rivals? Let us know in the comments down below or tell us on our Google + page.