Obituary to the death of Chromecast Audio or why Google killed black disks
A few days ago, www.reddit.com announced that Google has discontinued the release of Chromecast Audio, a device that at one time has become one of the most convenient alternatives to large multi-room systems. For those who managed to forget what this thing is, let me remind you that this is a drive that turned any speakers into wireless ones, received a sound signal via WI-FI, offered 3 switching options and cost $ 35. For me personally, Chromecast Audio and TV -the Chromecast add-on has become, if not the standards, then the original symbols of the fact that innovations can significantly expand the user's capabilities without astronomical costs.
A little bit about what it was. Chromecast Audio was quite modern for its time gadget. So it was created on the basis of the Marvell Armada 88DE3006 1500 Mini Plus media processor with two ARM Cortex-A7 cores. Also in the architecture was involved chip Marvell Avastar 88W8887 VHT, which provides support for wireless connections (WLAN).
In addition, the gadget used Toshiba's flash memory module TC58NVG1S3HBAI6 with a capacity of 2 Gb, and Nanya NT5CC128M16IP-DI / EK 2 Gb DDR3L SDRAM chip was selected for the device RAM. Thus, for the performance of the gadget at the time of the appearance could not worry.
The device could be switched with speakers through a 3.5 mm jack, as well as through RCA and optics. The sound was transmitted via WLAN, which, in the opinion of users, made it possible to make the connection more stable and improve fidelity than Bluetooth (quite likely for 2014).
I was sincerely convinced that there is a future for such devices, and I hoped that the project would become a long-lived. However, something did not grow together. No tendentious HYIP happened, and sales, given the scale of Google, were quite modest.
The obvious reason for shutting down production was the widespread adoption of wireless transmission and the integration of Chromecast functions into the devices themselves.
I also suspect that marketing has been a little disappointing. And here was the case when he was really relevant. The device appeared at that moment (2014), when not all flagship speakers were equipped with a wireless transmission and stuffed with functionality, and the sources could already transmit.
Thus, the user has the opportunity to turn any old
speakers in full wireless acoustics. At that moment there was no similar device on the market for such money.
The IT giant has confirmed that it stops the release in an official message a couple of days after the message reddit. In a statement, the company for Android Police specifically said the following:
Despite the many advantages, Chromecast Audio did not become over-popular, as its creators probably wanted. As time has shown, the market turned out to be more susceptible to devices that combine many functions, but rather coldly reacted to the gadget, which gives us things that are familiar to us with new functions.
Do you think the decision to curtail the production of this gadget is correct, write in the comments - I will be grateful for your opinion.
Jeans
We sell multi-room systems and wireless acoustics, you can evaluate the range in our catalog .
We also invite all those interested in the master class “How to choose a vinyl player”. The event will take place on January 19, 2019 in the PULT.ru salon in Moscow at the address: ul. Ordzhonikidze, 11 details about the event here .
We will give mulled wine and a blanket to all visitors of the master class.
What are we talking about
A little bit about what it was. Chromecast Audio was quite modern for its time gadget. So it was created on the basis of the Marvell Armada 88DE3006 1500 Mini Plus media processor with two ARM Cortex-A7 cores. Also in the architecture was involved chip Marvell Avastar 88W8887 VHT, which provides support for wireless connections (WLAN).
In addition, the gadget used Toshiba's flash memory module TC58NVG1S3HBAI6 with a capacity of 2 Gb, and Nanya NT5CC128M16IP-DI / EK 2 Gb DDR3L SDRAM chip was selected for the device RAM. Thus, for the performance of the gadget at the time of the appearance could not worry.
The device could be switched with speakers through a 3.5 mm jack, as well as through RCA and optics. The sound was transmitted via WLAN, which, in the opinion of users, made it possible to make the connection more stable and improve fidelity than Bluetooth (quite likely for 2014).
Unjustified hopes for takeoff
I was sincerely convinced that there is a future for such devices, and I hoped that the project would become a long-lived. However, something did not grow together. No tendentious HYIP happened, and sales, given the scale of Google, were quite modest.
The obvious reason for shutting down production was the widespread adoption of wireless transmission and the integration of Chromecast functions into the devices themselves.
I also suspect that marketing has been a little disappointing. And here was the case when he was really relevant. The device appeared at that moment (2014), when not all flagship speakers were equipped with a wireless transmission and stuffed with functionality, and the sources could already transmit.
Thus, the user has the opportunity to turn any old
speakers in full wireless acoustics. At that moment there was no similar device on the market for such money.
Google confirmation and comments
The IT giant has confirmed that it stops the release in an official message a couple of days after the message reddit. In a statement, the company for Android Police specifically said the following:
"Our product portfolio continues to evolve, and now we have many products that allow users to enjoy audio ... We will continue to offer support for Chromecast Audio so that users can continue to enjoy music, podcasts, and more."The message indicates that Google lost interest and does not see prospects in the development of Chromecast Audio. Perhaps this is also due to the fact that part of this niche in the market was occupied by cheaper counterparts from the Middle Kingdom, with cheaper devices offering similar functionality.
Total
Despite the many advantages, Chromecast Audio did not become over-popular, as its creators probably wanted. As time has shown, the market turned out to be more susceptible to devices that combine many functions, but rather coldly reacted to the gadget, which gives us things that are familiar to us with new functions.
Do you think the decision to curtail the production of this gadget is correct, write in the comments - I will be grateful for your opinion.
Jeans
We sell multi-room systems and wireless acoustics, you can evaluate the range in our catalog .
We also invite all those interested in the master class “How to choose a vinyl player”. The event will take place on January 19, 2019 in the PULT.ru salon in Moscow at the address: ul. Ordzhonikidze, 11 details about the event here .
We will give mulled wine and a blanket to all visitors of the master class.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/436552/