Google Chromecast takes on streaming content to TV

Google's Chromecast is a device which plugs into your television, allowing users to stream content like web video and music wirelessly using a mobile device or laptop.

It also provides the ability to display anything from inside a tab on its Chrome web browser.

The dongle was released last week at an aggressive price of $35 (£23), and represents yet another foray for the firm into television hardware, having previously struggled to make much impact with its separate Google TV project.

The device currently only works with a few mobile apps, but many more are expected to come on stream shortly.

In doing so they will potentially pose a significant challenge to established cable operators who traditionally sell monthly subscriptions of bundled content directly into consumers' TVs.

The BBC's North America technology correspondent Richard Taylor has been trying it out.