Own a Chromecast? Google Will Give You $6 Credit in Google Play

Chromecast is a media streaming device which looks like a thumb drive. When you plug in the device to your HDMI port on your TV, you can cast your favorite movie or apps from your Android phone, tablet, iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows or Chromebook to the big screen. It is working with some of the biggest player in video streaming including Netflix, HBO GO, YouTube, WatchESPN and Pandora.

The best part is that now, Google will give you $6 credit into Google Play if you own Chromecast. However, it is only applicable if you are located in USA only. With this credit, you can use it to rent a video online or purchase games or apps from Google Play.

The steps to redeem the offer are as per below:

-. Ensure that you are connected to same network as your Chromecast.

-. Open Chromecast on iOS/Android app.

-. Tap your device and click on “Check for Offers” button.

-. Enter your Chromecast serial number to confirm.

Here is an instruction to do this on laptop. If you own more than one Chromecast, you may also redeem the offer once for each of your device using the mobile app.

Own a Chromecast? Google Will Give You $6 Credit in Google Play

Amazon launches a $39 Fire TV Stick, a competitor to Google’s Chromecast

Amazon has launched a new Fire TV Stick, an HDMI Dongle for media streaming that will offer tough competition to Google’s $35 Chromecast that it had introduced last year. Last month we saw Google unveil a set top box Nexus Player costing $99 in direct competition to Amazon’s $99 Fire TV introduced last year.

The Chromecast had become quite a hit among consumers as it provided affordable media streaming and now Amazon is entering the market with its own Fire TV Stick which is more powerful than the Chromecast. It has a dual core processor, a dedicated VideoCore4 GPU, 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of internal storage. Its processing power is six times that of the Roku Streaming Stick. The memory is twice that of Chromecast and the internal storage is four times that of Chromecast and 32 times that of Roku Streaming Stick.

The Fire TV Stick also has a dual-band dual-antenna Wi-Fi (MIMO) supporting 802 11 a/b/g/n networks giving a better Wi-Fi performance and more reliable viewing. It has Bluetooth 3.0 with support for HID, HFP and SPP. The device has its own UI and can store apps. It can also mirror whatever is on your Fire phone or tablet on your HDTV.

The Fire TV Stick also has its own dedicated remote control or if you want to navigate from your mobile device, there is a free Fire TV Remote App available for Android and Fire devices. App for iOS would be available soon.

The Fire TV Stick holds a price tag of $39 and is available for pre-order. Amazon’s Prime members got the Stick for a mere $19 for the first two days. The shipping is expected to begin from November 19. The Stick connects to the HDMI port of your TV and streams media from Amazon Instant Video, Netflix, YouTube, Hulu Plus, Amazon Music, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Pandora and much more. The device is great for gaming too, with over 200 playable games on it.

Amazon launches a $39 Fire TV Stick, a competitor to Google’s Chromecast

Chrome for Android updated with exciting enhancements

Chrome for Android gets better with an update to version 35.0.1916.122. It includes new appealing enhancements, including the ability to undo a tab close and support for select multi-window devices. It also includes support for fullscreen video with subtitles and HTML5 controls, the ability to cast some videos with Chromecast and indefinite bug fixes.

The  undo tab close feature is really simple to use, but if you’re not paying close attention it’s easy to miss the prompt, leaving the tab lost forever.You will see a new “Undo” prompt pop-up at the bottom of your screen when you close a tab.The prompt hangs out for only a few seconds, so you’ll need to act quickly.

One of the biggest new features is support for devices with multi-window features. So if you have a Galaxy Note device or any other with same spec, you can now browse the web and check the mails at the same time.Chrome also can stream “select” videos you are watching while you’re browsing to a Chromecast. It’s unknown which videos you can stream at this time, but more Chromecast support is always great.

You can download the update to Chrome now from Google Play where it’s available for Android devices running Android 4.0 and upwards.How do you like the new Google Chrome features?

Chrome for Android updated with exciting enhancements