http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKG5HDyTW8o

WEB GIANT GOOGLE has joined Apple and Microsoft in the race to the living room.

Google made the announcement of their stab at competing with Apple TV yesterday, but is hoping to come up trumps by offering the cheapest streaming device on the market.

The Chromecast will hit the US market at $35, $64 cheaper than Apple TV. The device plugs into the USB port on any HDMI TV, turning the television into a second screen for any Google-powered devices. This includes Android phones and tablets as well as PCs and Macs running the Chrome browser.

Targeted specifically at the average consumer, Chromecast has positioned itself as the cheapest and easiest way for consumers to stream from their computers to their TVs.

The device, which has already sold out on the Google Play store, could mean a huge increase in costumers for subscription-based services, such as Netflix. The dongle comes complete with a free three month trial of the video service.

Although Chromecast only works with Netflix, YouTube and PlayStore media apps, Google has released a Software Developers Kit that should see other companies come on board before the end of the year.

Although no European release date has been set, Google has said that an EU release will come “soon”.

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