“Don’t worry, it’ll still be weird looking and expensive,” Google doesn’t really say.
For as brilliant and successful as Google is, they sure do make some strange stuff. Like augmented reality glasses, self driving cars, Wave, and the Nexus Q. Although to be fair, they don’t really make the Q just yet because it has been delayed. The Nexus Q is a tv peripheral shaped like a big black orb. As it stands, it would only play video from YouTube and Google Play and music from Google’s music store. Google is delaying the launch of the project and will give away the device to anyone who has already pre-ordered it, which means those brave customers won’t have to pay $300 for it after all.
Three hundred bucks is a lot of money for an orb that doesn’t do much.
What will the new features be when Q re-emerges? Wired has some ideas:
Why not load up Nexus Q with a graphical user interface, such as Android or Google TV (which is built on Android), and give the hardware the ability to run Android apps? Right now, the Q’s audio functionality is entirely tied into three Google services, and that’s way too limiting. Hackers have already shown us that the Nexus Q can handle Netflix just fine, but the $100 Apple TV already does Netflix and Hulu Plus. Allowing the Nexus Q to easily run any Android app could push the gadget beyond these lower-priced set-top boxes.
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