While there’s always been a market for budget smartphones in the U.S., Google’s new contender for that market segment is likely going to be one of the most secure phones (as well an extremely good budget option for photographers).

The Google Pixel 3A smartphone was announced by Google this week, a less expensive version of the the Pixel 3. The 64GB base model starts at $399, a steep drop from Apple’s $749 “budget” option, the iPhone XR.

The  Pixel 3A includes one of the best features of the Pixel 3, the 12.2MP dual-pixel rear camera. That camera includes an impressive Night shot mode for taking pictures in dark lighting situations (without using flash), a depth editor & color pop selector, a portrait mode and unlimited photo storage with Google Photos.

The Pixel 3A comes in two screen sizes, 5.6-inch or 6-inch OLED models. It offers up to 30 hours of battery life as well as USB-C quick charging. It doesn’t not have wireless charging, but that would have been extremely unlikely at this price point.

Regarding specs, the phone is outfitted with a Snapdragon 670 processor, 4GB of RAM, active edge sensors, a headphone jack and Android 9.0 Pie (with a minimum of three years support on operating system updates).

You can find more information on Google’s site about the new phone here or watch the announcement video below:

Shut Up And Take My Money: Google Pixel 3A Smartphone

Announced recently, Google is attempting to perfect the ability to stream games into your home without having to invest lots of money into hardware.

Called Google Stadia, games will run on servers within Google’s data centers. Players will connect via a computer, laptop, tablet, mobile phone, smart TV, a dumb TV with an attached Chromecast; basically a video screen with an internet connection.

To play the game, users can use a thrid party controller or keyboard / mouse combo as well as Google’s own controller, designed specifically for the service. Google is aiming for streams up to 4K resolution as 60 frames per second, along with support for HDR and surround sound.

They also hope to scale to 8K resolution eventually at 120 frames per second. Of course, this will all be dependent on a users’s connection speed. Anyone with a slower download speed may be restricted to lower resolutions, like 1080p at 3o frames per second. Google didn’t not indicate if there would be pricing tiers for each resolution level.

It’s likely that Google is attempting to make a play for Twitch users and try to bring those folks to YouTube for publishing live streams. Hypothetically, a user would be able to watch someone play a game, then immediately shift over to playing the game themselves, assuming it’s included in a subscription model.

Of course, one of the biggest roadblocks could end up being data caps put in place by ISP companies. Streaming 4K video off Netflix eats up roughly 7GB to 10GB of bandwidth per hour. If Google Stadia’s video feeds require similar data usage, playing a game like Red Dead Redemption 2 from start to finish (roughly 50 hours) could eat up 350GB to 500GB of data, potentially half a 1TB monthly data cap.

Google did not announce when Stadia would launch (beyond stating 2019) nor release any information on pricing. It’s possible Google will release more information during the Google I/O 2019 conference at the end of May. Microsoft is also rumored to be making a leap into streaming gaming, likely announcing around E3 during early June 2019.

You can check out a video of Google Stadia announcement below:

Shut Up and Take My Money: Google Stadia

Matching Amazon with a barrage of new product announcements, Google has released information on new Home smart devices as well as a new Chromebook, a new lifecam and headphones that translate foreign languages in real time.

In addition to the $130 Google Home standalone device, the $50 Home Mini is Google’s answer to the Amazon Echo Dot. Of course, it will be difficult to match sale prices on the Echo Dot since the Home Mini hardware is brand new. Expect the Home Mini to fall to a minimum of $40 during November’s Black Friday sales while the Echo will fall to $30 to $35.

The Google Home Max is a much larger speaker designed to match up against the $500 Sonos PLAY:5. In addition to being a smart home device, users can connect to the speaker wirelessly via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Google is bundling it with 12-months of YouTube Music.

The $160 Pixel Buds are a new device that includes Google Assistant in the earbuds. Basically, you just touch the earbud on the right and say something like “Help me speak Spanish.” It also has one-touch controls, tapping it for play / pause or swiping for changing the volume.

The other devices include a $250 lifecam called Google Clips. It includes 16GB of storage and connects directly to your smartphone to offload the photos and videos. There’s a new high-end Chromebook, the $999 Google Pixelbook, and a new smartphone, the $650 Pixel 2.

Google announces $50 Home Mini, $400 Home Max, $160 Pixel Buds

Starting in September, Walmart customers will be able to use Google Home devices to place orders using only their voice; quite similar to Amazon’s Alexa via Echo devices. In order to accomplish this, the nationwide retailer will make their products available on Google Express.

Similar to placing voice orders with Alexa, Google Home devices will reference your ordering history when purchasing items. Basically, if you placed an order for a 12-pack of Bounty paper towels a month ago, Google Home will be able to repeat that order. It’s unclear if items can be placed on subscription though; ideal for repeat ordering.

To use this service, customers will have to link their accounts to Google. Walmart estimates “hundreds of thousands” of products will be available through Google Express. However, that’s a small fraction of the retailers entire catalog of more than 65 million items.

Obviously, Walmart is attempting to grab a larger piece of the online shopping ecosystem. While Walmart is frequently the 1st alternative search option after people look for an item on Amazon, Walmart lags behind in average customer orders. The average Amazon customer spends over $150 each month on Amazon while the average Walmart customer only spends a bit over $25.

Besides Google Home devices, anyone with an Android smartphone will be able to use Google’s voice assistant to place voice orders as well. In addition, Google has started offering free delivery on Google Express as long as your order is above each retailers’s minimum purchase when checking out. Shipping speed on Google Express is usually one to three business days.

Google & Walmart team up on voice ordering to take on Amazon’s Alexa

Have you ever wanted to be Michael Jordan, making millions, winning NBA titles, and having your own shoes? Well, the first two almost certainly aren’t going to happen, unless you can grow a foot overnight or invent Flubber. But with the new Adidas 3D printed shoes, you can feel like Jordan, at least when you’re wearing your personalized shoes. (And, yes, we know Jordan is a Nike athlete; just go with the general idea for now.)

The Futurecraft 4D will be made from a regularly manufactured Adidas shoe, but the midsole will be inserted later. A California startup company called Carbon — funded in part by Google and GE — uses a 3D printing process called Continuous Liquid Interface Production to create the midsoles for the shoes.

The initial plan is to allow individuals to order shoes that would be molded to fit their foot shape or foot strike when walking or running. Or a company could order a limited edition of a particular shoe.

Adidas will start creating and selling the shoe over the last half of 2017, with plans for about 5,000 shoes this year. That number will climb to 100,000 shoes in 2018.

Adidas already allows customers to personalize their shoes by ordering online with custom colors. And other shoe companies have unveiled 3D printed shoes as prototypes.

But the Adidas and Carbon collaboration aims to speed up the process of printing the shoes, while maintaining the quality. Adidas reported the first set of shoes required about 90 minutes to print a single midsole. But the hope is to cut the amount of time required to around 20 minutes.

This process would replace the idea of making small batches of shoes using plastic injection technology. This method required about 10,000 shoes to be economical, so the 3D printing method for midsoles would allow for smaller batches.

Not surprisingly, the initial high cost of these shoes is the biggest drawback. (Who would’ve guessed that individually customized shoes would be expensive?)

Adidas and Carbon are working on ways to bring the shoes’ cost down, but when the Futurecraft 4D shoes initially appear, Adidas says they will have a premium cost. To keep up with the latest information regarding Adidas’ Futurecraft 4D shoes, check with the Adidas Futurecraft web page.

Cool Gear: Adidas 3D Printed Shoes Are Made to Order

Undercutting the Roku Premiere+ by about $30, Google and Xiaomi are significantly driving the price down for anyone that wants to get into 4K streaming with HDR support. Prior to the announcements of these devices this week, the Roku Premiere+ was the new price leader for HDR lovers at $100 for the new set-top box.

Fortunately, we have 2 new competitors driving the prices down even more. Announced today, the Chromecast Ultra will debut in November at a $69.99 price point and will support both HDR10 and Dolby Vision formats. Approximately 1.8 times faster than a standard Chromecast when loading video, the Ultra will also include an Ethernet port for anyone that needs a wired connection to handle those data-heavy 4K streams.

Users will be able to stream 4K video on YouTube  Netflix and Vudu when the device launches. Google Play support for 4K movies will be coming later that month. Of course, you can still mirror content from a laptop, if you prefer to cast your video from a regular computer rather than a mobile device.

Chinese consumer electronics Xiaomi is also getting into the streaming set-top box market in a big way with the inexpensive Mi Box player. Also priced at $69.99, the new set-top box runs a variation of Google’s Android TV in order to support the most popular streaming apps like Netflix, Hulu, YouTube and HBO Now.

While Google struck out with their older Android TV device (the Nexus player), Xiaomi’s aggressive play into the market undercuts all the prices. It includes 4K streaming with HDR support, a Bluetooth remote control with support for voice searching, Google Cast support for sending video to your TV screen, support for DTS and Dolby Digital Plus and gaming support with a quad-core processor. (To get equivalent features on Roku, you would have to spend $130 to get voice search on the Roku Ultra.)

Google’s Chromecast can be purchased directly through Google or stores like Best Buy. The Xiaomi Mi Box can be purchased direct from Xiaomi (when in stock) or through Walmart as the box hits stores in early October.

Chromecast Ultra, Mi Box offer 4K with HDR at just $70

The Bluetooth audio receiver has been a little cottage industry in recent years, and I’ve reviewed my share of them (here, here and here). Bluetooth receivers are a cheap way to wirelessly stream music and audio from your smartphone to your existing stereo or powered speakers. On the other end of the spectrum, Sonos—and to a smaller degree, Apple Airplay—offer higher quality but more expensive options to stream music in your home.

Google’s new Chromecast Audio sits somewhere in between those options, but closer in spirit and price point to the ubiquitous Bluetooth receiver. Priced at $35, it’s ironically higher than most Bluetooth receivers, considering that Google’s Chromecast streaming player (also $35) is considered the budget option in its product category.

But let’s be clear: the Chromecast Audio is way better than any and all the Bluetooth receivers out there. I think it will become the standard of wireless home audio, especially when its future support of multi-room audio arrives sometime down the line.  There is one small hitch to world domination that lies outside of Google’s control: Apple Music doesn’t work with the Chromecast Audio.

That’s right. Spotify, Google Music, Pandora and most of the major music streaming apps work with the Chromecast Audio…except Apple Music (and also Amazon Music, but probably most people don’t care about that). But this could change, as we saw back in June when Apple announced cross-platform support (Android, gasp!) for Apple Music. Just don’t hold your breath.

Unboxing and Setup

The Chromecast Audio comes in the same size box as the new Chromecast and also shares the new puck-shaped form factor. It measures about 2 inches in diameter and has narrow circular grooves on the top, resembling an old-school vinyl record. It’s only available in black, unlike the second gen Chromecast which launched with three color options.

In the box, you’ll also find a short yellow 3.5mm cable (just under 6 inches), the USB power cable and small power adapter. Or you can bring your own RCA Y-cable or optical cable (Toslink to 3.5mm mini Toslink).

The exterior of the Chromecast Audio has a small reset button and two ports: the micro USB port and the 3.5mm jack with analog and digital audio output.

Setup takes anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes depending on your level of technical expertise. But not to worry: it’s easy (and even easier if you’ve already set up a regular Chromecast).

You need to get the free Chromecast app on an Android or iOS phone or tablet. On a Windows PC, you can go to https://www.chromecast.com/setup via the Chrome browser and download the Chromecast app. Windows phones and Macs are currently not supported.

From the Chromecast app, you will be taken through the steps to find your Chromecast Audio via Bluetooth and then test the sound on it. After you’ve verified the test sound, you’ll name your Chromecast Audio and connect it to your Wi-Fi network, and that’s it.

Sound Quality and Play Options

It sounded pretty good right out of the gate. The audio quality immediately reminded me of AirPlay but with less dropouts. Welcome news: Chromecast Audio supports up to 24-bit/96kHz audio (DVD quality).

The Chromecast Audio streams audio over dual-band 802.11ac (2.5GHz/5GHz) Wi-Fi. The bandwidth and range is far superior to Bluetooth and it’s less susceptible to interference.

That said, there can be dropouts when you have heavy network traffic. I tested music streaming while sending files to the cloud, downloading a big file and backing up to a local network, and the audio dropped out for several seconds. It was an extreme test case, but something to keep in mind.

Of course, it’s great for home audio use because, unlike Bluetooth streaming, it won’t interrupt your streaming for phone calls,  text sounds and other system audio.

From the Chromecast app, you have the option of toggling High Dynamic Range for analog connections to hi-fi speakers and audio receivers. If you’re using an optical connection, HDR is the only setting.

The Chromecast app on Android is currently packed with a lot more features compared to the iOS version (although those are “coming soon”). From the Android Chromecast app, you can find content (“What’s On”) and apps (“Get Apps) that will utilize your new Chromecast Audio.  (On iOS you basically see a placeholder for your device.)

Conclusion

For Android and iOS users, the Chromecast Audio is a sleek alternative to Bluetooth receivers that should only get better with more apps (and a better iOS Chromecast app), multi-room audio capabilities and hopefully Apple Music support.

It’s good if you plan to have your devices farther away from the speakers and/or if you need to make use of the guest mode where anyone can easily cast to your Chromecast Audio with no pairing required. With its support for higher quality audio, the Chromecast Audio is a better choice for discerning audiophiles.

And at $35, the Chromecast Audio won’t set you back much more than a typical Bluetooth audio receiver, but it has the potential to do a lot more.

Keep your old Bluetooth audio receiver for the car.

Click Here to Search Ben’s for Chromecast Audio Deals

Google Chromecast Audio Review: A Better Mousetrap

Announced just yesterday, the 2015 version of the Google Chromecast offers up both a revision in design as well as upgraded internal hardware for a faster generation of mobile devices. Specifically, Google has upgraded the original’s 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi to 802.11ac Wi-Fi. The upgraded Wi-Fi allows users to operate on the 5GHz bandwidth, a less crowded space for streaming high definition video. (Click here to see our 2013 review of the original Chromecast.)

The form factor has shifted considerably from the original, moving from a traditional USB stick design to a round puck-like design. The device has gotten more colorful as well, offering up both yellow and coral as options. Of course, when the Chromecast is plugged into an HDMI port on the back of a television, you will never be able to appreciate the color. If I had to guess, the new color options will be ideal for anyone that travels extensively with the Chromecast. Spotting a yellow or bright red Chromecast in a laptop bag or suitcase is much easier than the old black color.

Packaging is roughly the same size as the original Chromecast. In the box, you will find the new Chromecast dongle as well as a removable tray that’s hiding the power adapter and USB cable. Google decided to leave out the HDMI extender cable this time, because it’s now basically attached to the device. That HDMI cable includes a magnet that snaps onto the back of the Chromecast, ideal for traveling. The power adapter has a better design this go-around, shifting away from the side-sitting model of the old version that potentially blocked other outlets on your power strip.

Setup has been streamlined from the original version, namely the user interface that walks you through the process. A new Chromecast owner simply goes to chromecast.com/setup in order to start the process. After downloading the mobile app, setup takes approximately five minutes.

You will need to link your home’s Wi-Fi network to the device as well as watch a short intro video while the device sets up for the first time. In addition, a day-one update will load on the device, basically upgrading the software to the latest version. Similar to the old Chromecast, these updates will happen automatically when you most likely aren’t using the device.

One other big change isn’t related to the hardware; it’s the mobile app’s integration into the background wallpaper that appears on your television during downtime. You can stream in photos from Facebook, Flickr or Google Photos, for instance. Other sliders in the Backdrop section of the app allow you to change the speed at which the images change, flip weather information on or off as well as pull in a curated cache of photos from the Web; mostly art or Google Earth satellite images.

How much faster is the new Chromecast?

In order to illustrate the speed difference between the two devices, I repeated the same timing tests that I ran two years ago in my original review of the Chromecast. This test measures the point which I tap a show’s play button to start streaming and the point which the show actually starts playing on the television.

Timing Tests of the 2013 Chromecast (originally with iPhone 5 over wireless 802.11g Wi-Fi)

• Netflix: 10.7 seconds
• Hulu: 7.1 seconds (tested Oct. 2013 when Hulu was added)
• YouTube: 13.2 seconds
• Google Play Video: 9.5 seconds

Timing Tests of the 2015 Chromecast (using iPhone 6 Plus over wireless 802.11ac Wi-Fi)

• Netflix: 5.3 seconds
• Hulu: 1.9 seconds
• YouTube: 4.3 seconds (slightly longer when advertisements load)
• Google Play Video: 4.2 seconds

As you can see, the transition to 802.11ac Wi-Fi (on all devices in the streaming chain) has significantly cut the time it takes to start streaming a video. It’s also likely that improvements in software over the last two years has helped make it slightly faster to stream video to the Chromecast. Google mentioned that the new Chromecast uses data pre-loading to bring up shows faster, basically making assumptions on what you may watch next in various apps.

Scrubbing through video has also gotten faster on all compatible apps. It takes less time for a video to skip to a specific section as well as sharpen the picture quality back to a crisp 1080p stream. I also haven’t noticed any issues with buffering after playing multiple videos in Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, Google Play, HBO Go and Showtime Anytime.

So Many Video Apps!

When the 2013 Chromecast launched, one of my original complaints was a lack of third party support when it came to supported apps. The only apps supported at the 2013 launch were Netflix and three Google platforms; Chrome, YouTube and Google Play. Heck, the only way you could watch Hulu was to stream the Web version from a tab in Chrome, which was chock full of frame drops and terrible audio issues.

This has changed completely over the last two years. Since then, the Chromecast now has native support for Hulu, Pandora, HBO GO,  Showtime Anytime, Spotify, Plex, Starz Play, Watch ABC and CBS All Access as well as sports apps like WatchESPN, MLB.tv and NFL Sunday Ticket. In addition, support for Sling TV will be added in a few weeks along with support for NBA Game Time and MLS LIVE streaming.

You can check out the full list of supported apps on Google’s site here. The only standout that seems to be notably absent from the list is Amazon Instant Video, probably because Amazon is attempting to attract consumers to the Fire TV platform.

One feature that I absolutely love is background streaming while I use my iPhone for other apps. If I want to jot off a text message or check my emails, I can do that while video continues to play. I can even open up another video app, say Netflix for instance, to browse for my next show while I’m watching the latest episode of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. on Hulu. This feels more natural and seemless than it did a couple years ago.

Chromecast Gaming?

Beyond movies, television and sports, Google has added support on the gaming side for Twitch and YouTube Gaming as well as  smattering of mobile games. Twitch works really well, basically identical to video apps. Streams start playing on your HDTV within a couple seconds while the comments about the stream appear on your mobile device.

I tried out a couple mobile games, Monopoly Dash (requires Chromecast) and Just Dance Now. Monopoly Dash has a very slick integration in particular. Matches loaded quickly and games progressed quickly, ideal for short games with friends. Just Dance Now was less impressive, mainly because the freemium design of the app forces players to watch advertisements on the big screen as well as purchase the songs that are sung by popular artists. In addition, dancing with my giant smartphone in one hand was somewhat awkward.

Is the Chromecast going to make a dent in the console gaming market? No. However, it’s a mildly interesting way to stream games to the big screen in the home. If gaming developers can utilize the mobile device as an advanced controller rather than just mirroring the game, it could become popular over time with the right support. The current library is fairly unimpressive, but it’s still very early.

Should You Buy It?

If you are considering replacing an existing Chromecast, the speed benefits are clearly noticeable. You don’t have to wait as long to start watching video, assuming you also have a 802.11ac router in your home. A 802.11ac compatible mobile device would also be useful, but not necessary.  If you are someone who’s brand new to the world of Chromecast, this is definitely the version to buy. You could outfit five televisions in your home for less than $200, definitely cheaper than purchasing multiple set-top boxes.

How is it going to stack up against the other streaming sticks on the market? Roku is rumored to be releasing the Roku 4 next month and may refresh the Roku Streaming Stick line as well. Amazon already announced a Fire TV streaming stick with voice support, but the new stick is still stuck with 802.11a/b/g/n connectivity, not the new 802.11ac standard on the Chromecast. Of course, the Chromecast still has a price advantage over the other two sticks; $5 less than the Fire TV stick and $15 less than the Roku Streaming Stick. As far as deals go on the new Chromecast model, expect to see sale prices in the $30 range during November.

Click Here to Search Bens for Chromecast Deals

Google Chromecast 2015 Review: A Need for Speed

Announced today at Google’s Nexus press conference, the new Chromecast is a revision of the original model that offers up a faster Wi-Fi connection (5GHz 802.11ac) as well as data pre-fetching (basically loading content about movies / TV shows as soon as you launch an app).

The new Chromecast supports a barrage of new apps from Showtime and Sling TV as well as sports apps from the NBA and NHL. It also offers up greater support for mobile gaming—basically gaming on your smartphone or tablet while watching it on the big screen.

The new Chromecast also has a different design than the older model. Rather than using the USB stick mold, Google has opted for a round, puck-like design that’s available in three colors; black, red and yellow. It’s connected to your television via HDMI and will retail for the same price point as the last model: $35.

In addition to the Chromecast for your home theater, Google has created a second device in the Chromecast line, the Chromecast Audio. This device plugs into any speaker in your home, basically allowing you to stream music from your mobile devices. It also offers a guest mode, ideal for parties when guests want to stream their own music.

The Chromecast Audio isn’t limited to your own music collection either. You can stream music from Spotify to a Chromecast Audio device. Mostly identical in design to the new Chromecast, the Chromecast Audio will also be priced at $35. Both devices should be available today at retailers such as Best Buy and Walmart as well as the Google Play store.

Check Out the Chromecast on Google

Shut Up and Take My Money: The New Chromecast Devices

The four metropolitan areas designated for Google Fiber next are Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville and Raleigh-Durham, with a total of 18 affected cities included in those areas, according to a post on Google’s official blog. Google also mentioned five more metropolitan areas it is considering for Fiber implementation further down the line. Those are Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Antonio and San Jose.

The process of installing the infrastructure necessary for Google Fiber is a long and sometimes political one, so if you’re in any of these areas don’t expect to be downloading The Interview during your coffee break anytime soon. From Google:

“We’ve been working closely with city leaders over the past year on a joint planning process to get their communities ready for Google Fiber—and now the really hard work begins. Our next step is to work with cities to create a detailed map of where we can put our thousands of miles of fiber, using existing infrastructure such as utility poles and underground conduit, and making sure to avoid things like gas and water lines. Then a team of surveyors and engineers will hit the streets to fill in missing details. Once we’re done designing the network (which we expect to wrap up in a few months), we’ll start construction.”

If all you care about is knowing when Google Fiber will be available to you, head over to Google’s notification page and sign up. In fact, expressing interest is a part of Google’s implementation process and how it determines where to build the “fiberhoods” that serve as the service’s hubs.

It’s been a slow roll since Google started up with it’s overwhelmingly fast fiber-optic network. Initially an experiment in Kansas City and subsequently expanded to two more cities, the gigabit internet service is still more of a privilege than a public service. That said, today’s announcement feels more like a second chapter than a continuation of the first, mostly because of this picture:

Though the first three cities are spread quite liberally throughout the country, today’s announcement shows that Google’s ambitions for nationwide infrastructural improvement are likely to be realized over time.

Visiting Ben’s is Getting Faster: Google Fiber Will Expand to Four Eastern Cities