Google announced the Nexus Player, which runs Android TV, a big-screen friendly version of Android, last October — but it was a US-only release at the time. From next week, you’ll be able to officially buy it in Australia.
Both JB Hi-Fi and Dick Smith will be selling the streaming device for $129. The actual box is built by Asus, and can stream content from Chromebooks, Android devices and iOS devices. It also allows you to search for content using your voice, and to play Android games on the big screen using a separate controller.
The $129 price compares quite well to the $US99.99 price charged in the States. On today’s exchange rate, that converts to around $129 — and the Australian price includes GST as well, which the base US price doesn’t. While you can find the device a little cheaper than list price on some US sites, once you factor in postage and a non-compatible power plug it’s a very fair deal.
The Nexus Player has received mixed reviews, but it’s an interesting idea. We’ll be putting it through its paces this week and will cover our favourite uses and tweaks in a future post.
Comments
17 responses to “Google Nexus Player Goes On Sale In Australia Next Week”
Currently use a Chromecast for Netflix streaming only. I don’t see a compelling need to upgrade/switch to this really.
Not really but if you did it would be you don’t always need a device to mirror your Netflix off and you will have a remote
you can get 3 Raspberry-pi’s for that price!
3 raspberry pis – all of them without wifi (this has 802.11ac), or a remote, and a slower cpu
http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/1175164
http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/2361244
this runs xbmc/kodi very nicely (just need to keymap one of the remote buttons to the context menu). i just got one from amazon and am a bit annoyed that in a week’s time i’ll be able to pick one up for $10 cheaper from a local retailer
I was just making a point about the price. Depends what you use it for i guess? my pi streams anything via plex and the nano wifi dongle was like $9 off ebay. And with HDMI-CEC i control the pi with my tv remote or any tablet/phone running plex
I’m looking to replace my pi with something cheapish that can run both kodi and netflix. That counts out some big players like apple, roku, and wdtv.
current frontrunners:
1) nexus player ($130)
2) second-hand ouya (probably $80-$100ish)
3) importing something like a firetv or mad catz mojo ($150+)
4) an off-brand android device from china. ($60+)
It’s probably not for everyone, but the nexus does offer a few things nobody else seems to be locally.
there’s a lot more discussion about this on Gizmodo:
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2015/04/google-nexus-player-finally-coming-to-australian-shelves/
I bought one from the us when it came out and it is terrific!
Ive had a mac mini, chromecast, firetv, ps3, ps4, rasberry Pi, wii u (lol), xbox, xboxone this beats all of them hands down (although i must admit i particularly liked the fire tv as the remote was really nice) as it is just a nice simple interface that my whole family can use to watch Plex, netflix and youtube.
My 2 year old daughter LOVES the voice search in youtube!
I would warn everybody that the nvidia version of android tv is coming out soon and that destroys the nexus player in every way… and a couple of the smart tvs coming out this year will have android TV baked right in.
Eyeballed this last year when I was looking at various hardware for streaming. Opted for the Roku 3 thanks to channels that weren’t available on the Nexus at the time. I use mine for all my US viewing and Plex.
For the AU market this will do well so long s they have aps for all of the streaming providers.
Plex is available but apparently it has a few flaws.
So if I’ve got a Chromecast, what’s the benefit in ‘upgrading’?
I don’t know what you use your chrome cast for but benefits include but not limited to are
Installing games and apps
Having a remote
Voice search
Not having a to mirror a devices for something like YouTube,plex,Netflix
Better Gui
You can use USB devices with it
It’s has a game controller for those games there are more but this are the ones I know off the top of my head
I used to use a Boxee Box for my media demands but when that started dieing I looked at replacement options and ended up with a chromecast which was awesome.
I’ve since got a Nexus Player via the US and these are what I like about it over a chromecast.
– No need for another device as it runs apps & has its own remote.
– Bluetooth remote control is nice a simple alternative to using a phone/tablet to control everything
– Voice Search via the remote works great for YouTube & Plex (Netflix need to add this to there app dammit)
– Does everything a chromecast does.
– Can get a game controller to play games on it.
Managed to unblock more content on Netflix by switching my region like this https://www.unblocknetflix.co.uk/best-usa-netflix-dns-vpn-uk-free-vs-paid/ works on Google Nexus Player too.
Good to know
Where can I buy the controller for the nexus player when it comes out
What’s the best media player
Managed to unblock US Netflix on Google Nexus Player thanks to this https://www.unblocknetflix.co.uk/best-usa-netflix-dns-vpn-uk-free-vs-paid/