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| Thank you, Mr. UPS delivery man! Better late than never! |
I must say, the wait was worth it. Who am I kidding? The wait is always worth it! In case any of you were just dying to know what it was I was expecting in the mail - this is it! I ordered the Chromecast the moment I found out it was available for shipment to Canada. Yes yes, I know I could have ordered it off of Amazon or eBay, but there's always something nice about buying something directly from the manufacturer without feeling like someone's making a profit off of your desperation and eagerness (other than Google itself, of course).
I decided I would surprise the dear wife with this purchase; we had considered getting one before, but were disappointed when we found out it wasn't immediately available in Canada upon its release (especially disappointing considering the sweet Netflix deal they had going on for a while there). Upon bounding into the house, bubble-wrapped prize clutched firmly in my grasp, I tore open the top and removed the contents from the dark enclosure in which it lay. I presented it triumphantly to the dear wife, anticipating some level of reciprocity of my already unbearable excitement.
"Did we want that?"
*sigh* Oh well. I tried.
As the dear wife departed for an evening of jovial socializing, my night of fun was just beginning as well - and the only invitees were my tech and a steak knife.
The packaging is not unlike many packaging designs that you will find your tech arriving in: a sleeve/pocket-like outer jacket containing marketing materials, encasing the main vehicle for the product.
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| Jacket: Rear marketing materials (Man Of Steel was actually pretty good) |
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| Jacket: Spine marketing materials ("Easy as 1, 2, 3!") |
We see the classic circular tape-like seal holding the contents within the aforementioned jacket - this is where the last element of the troika comes into play.
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| Adult supervision required |
After releasing the contents from its captor, we begin to see the journey unfold before our eyes.
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| Free at last! |
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| *Queue chorus of angels* |
The initial impression of the Chromecast just begs the feeling of "simplicity"; from the "1, 2, 3" of the setup guide (no other user manual included, or required) to the Chromecast unit sitting in a white mold shaped to hug the dimensions of the device.
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| "Look Ma, no user manual!" |
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| Female end of the HDMI cable extension |
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| Male end of the HDMI cable extension |
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| Micro-USB cable connection to the AC adapter |
As alluded to in the accessory characteristics, the Chromecast comes with two main connection points - one male HDMI connector (to plug into your TV) and one female Micro-USB port (to plug into the power source connector). Immediately upon picking up the device, it feels like it has enough heft and robustness to feel well-built, however light enough to feel versatile and streamlined (however not cheap-light feeling). Visible on the front (or top, depending on how you want to look at it) of the device is the Chrome branding, a power indicator light, and what looks to be a APN pairing button on the side.
For $40 (plus S&H) and the promise that this little device offers, I can't see how this can be considered a bad investment. While I fully expect the next iteration to come with even more features (Bluetooth capability, anyone?) I'm happy to be a first-generation user and I look forward to exploring the endless possibilities it has!
Stay tuned for an update on how the use of the Chromecast stacks up to the competition!
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