Google's Chromecast sells out quickly; company may have another TV device

Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) Chromecast, a new device designed to let people send the video they're looking at on a mobile device, tablet or PC to their TV set, sold out quickly in its first week of availability. Just as quickly, critics have begun identifying flaws in the $35 device. Meanwhile, reports surfaced that Google may have another TV-related device in development.

Initial sales of the Chromecast, which looks like an oversized USB drive and plugs into a TV's HDMI port, were so fast that the company had to scrap a promotion it was running with Netflix. At first, Chromecast buyers were given a 3-month credit toward their Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) subscription, but the promotion only lasted a day.

Though the product drew praise when Google publicly demonstrated it for the first time Wednesday, the halo quickly wore off for some as they got their hands on the device. Most criticism has been leveled at the device's power supply. Unlike a USB dongle, the Chromecast requires its own power source and therefore must be plugged into an electrical outlet--or a USB port in the TV set--as well as the TV's HDMI port, much like a traditional set-top box.

Meanwhile, reports surfaced that Chromecast may represent only a fraction of Google's plans for the living room. The company reportedly demonstrated a much more fully-featured Android-based set-top box to industry executives at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, according to The Wall Street Journal.

For more:
- Tubefilter had this story
- the Los Angeles Times had this story
- the Wall Street Journal had this story (sub. req.)
- CNET runs through the device's set up

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