Vizio

Vizio has integrated Chromecast into its TVs for quite a while now, and thanks to Google Home speakers, that means you can easily cast content up to the big screen. Now, at CES 2019, the company is announcing the latest version of its SmartCast platform, this time with deeper Google Assistant controls.

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VIZIO is no stranger to the world of Google Cast, with the company offering multiple speakers and TVs with the functionality built-in. Now, VIZIO is back at it with a new soundbar that offers up Chromecast built-in for an affordable price, along with Google Assistant compatibility.

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Vizio has today announced a new lineup of SmartCast E-Series TVs, all including Chromecast built-in (Google Cast) functionality. The highlights of this collection are the absolutely massive 4K HDR options, but there’s something here for everyone who’s interested…

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One of Google Home’s greatest strengths is its ability to cast content from YouTube, Spotify, Google Play Music, Netflix, and more to a TV or set of speakers just using your voice. However, that functionality can be just a little bit touchy at times, not always working on every device. Now, Vizio has announced that its collection of SmartCast products are all now compatible with Google Home.

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Today Vizio has announced a new selection of home speakers with integrated Google Cast, the SmartCast Crave 360 and the SmartCast Crave Pro. These new speakers are designed as potential competition to Sonos (and others), offering multi-room functionality and more…

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To reflect the recent expansion of its Google Cast streaming platform, Google’s Chromecast app is being renamed to the “Google Cast” app. Google is also announcing some new Google Cast-enabled speakers and TVs from Vizio. 
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We haven’t been getting a lot of updates on the Google TV front lately, but today Google made an announcement on its blog that the Redbox Instant by Verizon movie streaming subscription service is coming to Google TV.

The app delivers the full Redbox Instant by Verizon experience right to your living room. This includes access to your subscription disc and streaming package, and ability to purchase and rent the latest new releases from the Redbox Instant store.

On top of streaming, purchases and rentals, the Redbox app for Google TV will also allow users to reserve a disc for local pickup.

The service will initially be rolling out to select devices including: the 47G2 and 55G2 Google TV-enabled Smart TVs from LG, NETGEAR’s NeoTV Prime with Google TV, the Sony Internet Player NSZ-GS7, and the Vizio Co-Star.

The Redbox Instant by Verizon app for Google TV is available on Google Play now. Google TV users can sign up for the service now through the app on their device or on the web here. 
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We knew from an announcement in January that the ARM-based Armada 1500 chipset from Marvell would be at the core of new Google TV products in 2012. Today, we see the chips inside of one of the latest Google TV streaming products that went on sale last month, the Vizio Co-Star. The guys and gals over at iFixit decided to make the Co-Star its latest teardown victim, revealing the $99 set top box is powered by Marvell’s Armada 1500 1.2 GHz Dual-Core Processor, 1GB of RAM, and various other Marvell components:

* Here’s the specs on the Co-Star:
        * Marvell Armada 1500 1.2 GHz Dual-Core Processor
        * Marvell 88DE2755 QDEO Video Processor
        * Nanya NT5CB256M8GN-DI 1 GB RAM
        * Samsung K9GBG08U0A-SCBO 4 GB NAND Flash
        * Marvell Avastar 88W8787 WLAN/Bluetooth/FM SoC 

iFixit provided some highlights after giving the Co-Star a respectable 8 out of 10 repairability score:
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While we already got a look at its Google TV plans during the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year, Vizio made things official today for its “Co-Star” Google TV streaming box by giving it a $99 price tag and pre-order date set for July. The Co-Star goes a little bit beyond the typical Google TV experience, providing a skinned UI with HTML5 Chrome browser, Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, and iHeartRadio apps built-in. It also has OnLive for the first time ever on a Google TV set-top box. The box will come with a double-sided Bluetooth remote with a full QWERTY keyboard on one side and a number and touchpad on the other. We do not have specifics on a release date, but Vizio plans to start taking preorders next month.

“Our focus to deliver the best consumer experience continues with today’s announcement of the Co-Star, which delivers a superior smart TV interface that anyone can add to their existing HDTV,” said Matt McRae, VIZIO’s Chief Technology Officer. “We combined the powerful features of Google TV™ with an intuitive and easy to use interface, giving users the power to enjoy an entire world of entertainment.”

Reports claimed yesterday that Google is getting ready to unveil some new updates to the Google TV platform tomorrow at its Google I/O keynote, including: combined content browsing for Netflix, DVR, and TV content, and AirPlay-like features for sharing content between devices.

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Interesting move here by Amazon.  By dropping the nicely-specced Vizio VTab eight inch tablet to $199, they’ve created a competitor to their own Amazon Kindle Fire tablet which at 7 inches is also priced at $199.

The VTab runs Android 2.3, has 4GB of built in storage and an SD card slot for additional storage and 512MB of RAM.  It bests the Kindle Fire with a bigger, higher resolution 1024 x 768 display, front facing camera for video conferencing (with Google Talk and Skype), built in IR blaster, an SRS 3 speaker sound system as well as an internal GPS.

It lacks the Kindle’s Dual Core processor.

For my money, this beats a Kindle Fire.

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For those of you who are big fans of Hulu Plus, you’ll be happy to know that the streaming service has landed on the Vizio 8. Currently, Hulu Plus is available on a total of ten Android phones– making the Vizio 8 the first Android tablet.

As This is my next points out, the Vizio 8 is available for $299 making it a nice cheap option to view Hulu Plus.

Vizio has announced the VIZIO 8″ Tablet, available at retailers for $299. The tablet is aimed at being a tool to control your home theater with the ability to be paired with many of Vizio’s TVs and Blu-Ray players. Besides the controls, the tablet features the normal set of Android 2.3, featuring the Android Market and pre-loaded Google Apps.

Hardware on the device includes a 8-inch display, 1GHz processor, 802.11n Wi-Fi, 16GB SD card, and a front-facing VGA camera. To interact with your home theater setup the tablet features a HDMI output, an infared transmitter, universal remote app, and HDCP streaming. Check it out over at Vizio.

Press release after the break:

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Television maker Vizio wasn’t kidding when they announced Android smartphones and tablets at CES 2011 in January. According to Wireless Goodness,  their first Android-powered smartphone has received a blessing from the Federal Communications Commission. The device carries the VPHN1044G label, but they plan to sell it under the more user-friendly Vizio Phone moniker.

It’s a four-inch (854-by-480 pixels) Android superphone that comes with your regular perks, including a 1GHz processor, HDMI video output, microSD cards support and more. The FCC filing reveals support for the 850 and 1900 MHz bands, suggesting a launch on AT&T’s 3G network in the US.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9RdNSpzPKc&w=670&h=411]

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