At the beginning of last month Google released its Chromecast Software Development Kit (SDK) and API, meaning that the inexpensive HDMI dongle is about to get a whole lot more apps. Add the fact that Chromecast is now available in another eleven countries, including the U.K., Canada, Italy, Sweden, France and Germany, we should start to see more interesting and useful apps.
There is a growing number of apps in various genres but they can be a little hard to find in the Google Play Store, so thankfully the developer community has created Cast Store, which is a directory of all the Chromecast apps currently available. To help you sift out the more interesting ones, we’ve put together a list of what we think are the best apps.
There is a growing number of apps in various genres but they can be a little hard to find in the Google Play Store, so thankfully the developer community has created Cast Store, which is a directory of all the Chromecast apps currently available. To help you sift out the more interesting ones, we’ve put together a list of what we think are the best apps.
CastPad
This app is great if you have kids as it allows you draw on your phone (with a stylus!) and then display the work of art on your TV screen. Of course it’s fun for adults too and can make a good game of pictionary lots more fun.
Flixster
This free movie tracking app will provide you with all the movie reference information you will ever need, including local show times, cast, reviews and trailers. A recent update means you can also load movies onto the SD memory card (if you have a Samsung device). Included on Flixster is a host of free and paid movies ready for you to watch when you want.
Haystack.tv
For those of you who like to keep up with current affairs, Haystack.tv is a useful app that allows you to watch news bulletins from across the internet, on subjects that you are interested in.
5by
This video portal will create a personalised playlist of clips from all over the internet, based on your likes, dislikes and what you are doing at that very moment.
Photowall
Google recently released this app, which enables you to not only view your favourite photos on your TV but also share them with others. Photos can be sent via your Android or iOS smartphone, or through the Google Chrome browser. Once all of the photos have been loaded on, the app automatically generates a YouTube video and shares it with everyone who is in the photo.
Flipps
As well as having a heap of channels that cover everything from NASA to MTV and fitness video podcasts, Flipps also allows you to share content from your phone and other DLNA servers on the network.
Pocket Casts
This popular podcast manager has been updated to allow you to stream podcasts straight to your TV screen. You will have to pay a small fee for this app though.
Availability for the different apps does vary, with some only being accessible in the U.S but hopefully this will start to change as more apps are created and more people start to use the little Android device. If you have any recommendations for us then please share them in the comments.
[Images via androidcentral, liliputing, cultofmac, thetechgets & droid-life]
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