Chromecast Is What Google TV Should Have Been

Chromecast, the surprise announcement at Wednesday's Google Breakfast event in San Francisco, is the most welcome of unexpected guests and already Google's best and brightest hope for living room dominance.

The concept, product and execution — at least based on what I saw — are smart, simple and affordable. The Chromecast device is roughly the same size as a memory stick and plugs into any HDMI port on a HDTV (yes, you need an open HDMI port). It communicates with your network via 802.11n Wi-Fi and with Android, iOS, Windows and ChromeOS devices.

Chromecast lets your stream online content to your TV and control it via your new Nexus 7 (also introduced today, along with Android 4.3) or any Android device running version 2.3 or later, according to published specs. To stream YouTube content, simply choose the "Cast" icon on the mobile app.