Google proudly announces that its cast button had been hit by users for more than 400 million times. The record negates the recent reports that the number of its dongle usage has decreased.
The brainchild of Mario Queiroz, Chromecast is designed to stream content from the Chrome browser to a computer or through the display of several Android models. It has a plug-in port for HDMI and gets power either from a USB port or from an external source.
The $35 mini dongle for digital media playing competes with streaming rivals Apple, Amazon, and Roku. Google hasn't disclosed the exact number of sold units and reported instead that it had successfully sold millions of it. At present, Chromecast is available in over 30,000 stores that are sprawled in almost two dozen countries. It is also available through the Google Play store. Some of its featured apps include Crunchyroll, RealPlayer Cloud, Rdio, and BeyondPod.
As a way to celebrate their milestone with a bang, Google is offering users of Google Play Music with a free access to All Access for a period of 90 days. Normally, the service charges users with a monthly fee of $9.99. The offer, which is valid until September 30, is now available to all U.S. Chromecast users.
Since it was launched, Chromecast users have been enjoying the dongle's popular media services such as music, sports, TV programs, and premium movie titles. Google has even added hundreds of popular apps such as Dailyburn, Revision3, Vevo, Deezer, Crunchyroll, Crackle, YouTube, MLB.TV, Google+, Songza, Netflix, PBS Kids, HBO GO, Hulu Plus, Pandora, and WatchESPN. Now, there are more than 400 apps that are ready for "cast" and over 6,000 developers that have created a staggering number of 10,000 Chromecast apps.
As for its future plans, Chromecast chief reveals that several updates are in the pipeline which would enable "cross casting" ability between two different networks. There's also the plan to create a customizable homescreen. Dubbed as "Chromecast Backdrop," the project will definitely launch in the not so distant future.
Mario Queiroz posted several ways on how one can enjoy his Chromecast. Some of them would include enjoying media hits from Google Play Music and Songza, creating a video playlist through the YouTube app, showing off photos by casting them directly to the big screen, enjoying live sports feed in the living room with MLB.TV Premium and MLS Live, and burning up some "unwanted" calories with the Daily Burn app.
