At its first TechWorld show in Beijing, Lenovo has taken the wraps off a new media streaming device, the Lenovo Cast. A small hockey puck-like that connects your TV and mobile devices, Lenovo Cast aims to outdo Google's established Chromecast stick with faster connection speeds and more ways to stream your stuff to a bigger screen.
Lenovo Cast supports both 2.4 and 5GHz Wifi networks, with a range of approximately 20 meters and support for playback at up to 1080p resolution. Content is piped to your TV over a microHDMI cable, while a standard microUSB connector powers the small, hockey-puck-sized contraption. As for the technical nuts and bolts, Lenovo Cast supports DLNA and Miracast in addition to the Google Cast standard, which should make it a more versatile streamer than Google's basic $35 stick.
The Lenovo Cast is set to launch globally beginning in August priced at $49. In percentage terms that's a big increase from the Chromecast, though still within impulse buy territory for its target audience.
With Google I/O looming, it'll be interesting to see whether Google has a hardware refresh of its own waiting in the wings. Stay tuned over the next few hours.
Lenovo Makes Moments More Shareable with Its First Media Casting Device
Expands focus on flexible home entertainment
BEIJING, China and RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, North Carolina – May 28, 2015: Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) today at Lenovo Tech World launched the Lenovo Cast, the company's first media casting device to bring content from smaller, personal devices to the big screen.
Encourages More Multimedia Sharing
As more people capture and store their favorite photos, videos and apps on their most mobile and personal devices - their smartphones and tablets – they need a bigger screen to share with others. Imagine huddling around a friend's phone to look at vacation photos or trying to enjoy watching the big game live with others crowded around a tablet. In fact, studies have found that 80 percent of people are using tablets at home with 52 percent of them using tablets to watch TV. At the same time, they're sharing them with other people in their household.
Lenovo created the Lenovo Cast, its first streaming media device, to give users the ability to share their favorite content by streaming it wirelessly from their personal screen devices to a big screen TV. Lenovo Cast works in three simple steps: plug, link and play. First, plug Lenovo Cast into any large screen device's HDMI port. Then link Lenovo Cast to the device's signal. Then play and enjoy media from a DLNA or Miracast-enabled tablet or smartphone. Lenovo Cast offers extreme flexibility with its convenient pocket size and simple set up, making it an ideal companion device for smartphones and tablets. Its dual form factors allow users to hook it up either behind the TV or anywhere near it. Unlike other casting devices, Lenovo Cast ensures seamless streaming thanks to its dual frequency WiFi and its ability to transfer content up to 20 meters, even sending the signal through walls. And it's not limited to just sharing videos. It mirrors any content users have on their smartphones.
"Today people want more from their devices – the freedom technology gives them to accomplish more. They want to share a variety of content from their smartphones and tablets such as online videos and games with friends and family on a larger screen," said Liu Jun, executive vice president and president, Mobile Business Group, Lenovo. "The new Lenovo Cast is our latest device created to enable such personalized experiences."
Pricing and Availability
The Lenovo Cast will be available beginning in August worldwide. Pricing is $49 USD.
For more information, visit www.lenovo.com/techworld after the keynote.
