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Unofficial on the build name doesn't mean that it was unsupported by Google, it means that it wasn't an official device in the CyanogenMod Repo. the CM repo meant it was getting nightlies from build bots, had an official maintainer, and also met a minimum level of support/quality.
I worked a company specializing in print graphics, engraving, and pad printing. Google commissioned us to imprint the Nexus Q logo on cables intended for demo units of the Q, which were quite impressive. The cables featured braided cable with anodized plugs. Upon receiving a spec sheet detailing the logo requirements, I produced a sample for their approval. However, when four young guys arrived for inspection, they expressed dissatisfaction, stating, "This is not what we were thinking." Despite nailing specifications, they insisted, "We are not using those specs." These guys appeared intelligent and motivated, but it became evident that none of them had prior manufacturing experience. I was not surprized when the whole thing was cancled.
Actually I have a Nexus Q, I was one of the ones having gotten it for free. I was able to actually run my own software on it and it is now a stylish bluetooth speaker with a not that bad audio amplifier - better than all those "speakers" around. A monitor connected to the HDMI port (small screen) shows playlists on my NAS etc. It is a stylish thing on my rack in the bedroom.
I like the Q's design too, but I don't get why they gave it banana plug outputs instead of cinch and headphones jack. If you use cheap speakers, they often use a headphones jack for connection, and if you are using better speakers, you want to use a dedicated amplifier setup/AV receiver anyways - to which you would need to connect the Q with cinch, XLR or something like that. And if you want to connect wired headphones to the Q, you would need a headphones jack. For that reason, it would simply not work in my current setup. I already have an amplifier for my hi-fi speakers (using bare wires instead of banana plugs), to which the TV, HTPC, turntable... are connected. I would need the device to be connected to the amplifier too - but the Q lacks cinch output (the amp's optical already is used by the TV). If I would connect the speakers directly to the Q, I would have, first of all, terrible sound (there is a reason hi-fi equipment is expensive), and second, I would be unable to use them for anything but the Q.
It's actually pretty funny. My dad's closest friend was at that event in 2012 and well when my dad went to go visit him for work one time it was sitting in his office just sitting there as a paperweight 😂 He didn't even know how to use it properly.
14:30 Unofficial didn't mean it was because Google didn't support it. Unofficial means it was an unofficial CyanogenMod build; either this means CM didn't support the device or someone compiled an unofficial build for whatever reason. This was a CyanogenMod ROM that someone ported to the Nexus Q, compiled, and distributed themselves. Other tags that CM had were experimental, nightly, and snapshot. If it was a fully official stable build it lacked a tag at all. So for example if this was an official build it'd be named simply CM-11-steelhead without the extra tagging.
Fun fact: The "UNOFFICIAL" file name on the zip file means that the CyanogenMod team didnt make the custom rom for it. And it was mostly made by developers that aren't from the team to give other devices the rom. There are some that means "Nightly" which basically means its more for like beta builds.
Ah nightlies 🤩 would the camera app work? Probably not. But was it worth it? Rarely, weeklies were way more stable and still had lots of new features long time before stable build, but there's that element of excitement flashing a nightly that you just can't get elsewhere.
Surprised he didn’t bring up the Chromecast audio. I’ve found it very helpful getting streaming audio into my existing stereo systems. It was cheap and didn’t have any video and was also discontinued
I watch this man solely to ponder at his magnificent dome. He looks like someone screwed the wrong head on the wrong body. It's so utterly perplexing that no one ever address or talks about how significantly ahead in his field this guy is!
Was it reused? In general, a much higher percentage of killed Google projects where they subsequently bring in another one involve them binning everything and starting from scratch (yes, I'm still salty about them killing GPM and replacing it with the far inferior YT Music)
I was not expecting much at first, but learning it has a 25W amp with banana plugs, is theoretically hackable, and has a music visualizer... super cool! I want one! This is actually a really cool product.
I think this was most likely meant as a tech demo. Basically all parts where recycled - In-house manufacturing (gained expertise) - software (> Chromecast) - hardware (> nest hub, Chromecast)
"UNOFFICIAL" actually refers to it not being an officially maintained Cyanogenmod build. If it was officially maintained by someone, it would've been called official
At the time of the unveiling I was friends with a bunch of Google employees who said that they had early units and would go on to say how they couldn't understand why the market didn't love the device. That combined with experiences from being recruited by Google at time I came to see how cult-ish working there clearly was.
@@johnnykeys1978Google does not own Qualcomm, what are you talking about. Conspiracy theorists like you turn any fun and innocent topic into the most brain braindead BS ever. 🙄
@@ComputerClan yup! and the cap sense touch sensor on the top of the dome, and i spent days and days tuning the NFC antenna to increase the range. i've got stories lol
This was kinda the tail end of when Google/Android was at the top of their game. Encouraging hackability and open development. Speaking of Nexus the Nexus S4G was an amazing phone. I still remember Google allowing us testers to try beta NFC contactless payments back in late 2011 and people being blown away by it. I miss those days!!!
Today I learned that the Q and Stadia had two things in common beyond the obvious "got canceled" factor: Both restricted users to content purchased from Google instead of allowing use of third party storefronts, and both devices ended up being free to the people who bought them. It just took a bit longer in Stadia's case, but Google did refund all those controllers.
Some inconsistencies: androidtv is not rebranded as Google TV. Google TV can be considered as a slightly feature richer version of androidtv. Both coexist side by side. They mention 55M chromecast and chromecast built-in devices. This includes, and is not limited to, chromecast, androidtv devices, GoogleTV devices.
I've never heard of this product. But the idea that I can scan my CD collection into the speaker and listen to it is amazing and needs to be a product.
Not so much any more. Look at the specifications shown in the video: Class D amp. The audiofools might turn up their noses at the tech, but class D amps are quite the revolution in consumer audio: They are cheap to make, and so efficient you don't need a big expensive heatsink. That's how the Q is able to fit a low-cost amplifier into such a compact device.
I gotta say, there's a really underrated thing you do in these videos that needs to be more widely done. You define abbreviations! Seriously, why don't more people do this?
Honestly the $299 price might not be that crazy if you view the device as a two channel amp for discrete speakers rather than a simple streaming box. Not sure what the audio quality was, but I do know that there are two channel streaming amps that cost way more (Sonos Amp for example). Now with that said that doesn't change anything about the feature set being a bit lackluster for the price.
I was thinking the same thing, but then you have to admit that the target audience for this device probably doesn't know the difference between active and passive speakers. On the other hand, people who do know would be put off by the low price, as they are used to spending thousands of dollars on their audio experience.
It’s still outrageous to most consumers when, even in 2012 you could get a surround amp for that price. These days you can get a full Atmos receiver or a tube amp for $300. Sure some people will pay more for stuff like Sonos but it’s a small segment of the market. Fundamentally Google is/was never in a position, brand wise, to sell a device like that. At that price point it’s all about marketing and having a slick UI both things Google are bad at.
The Nexus Q was the shiny expensive object I wanted. The Chromecast Audio is the device I could actually afford to buy, and still works great to this day.
I would buy a product that was designed and made in the US even though it would be a little more expensive. I think what jacked the price so high up there is the Nexus Q's built in amp. P.S. Even when I was little I always wonder why was pretty much everything made in China? I asked my Mom and she told me because it was cheaper. I did not ask why it was cheaper then, but I found out years later why, not just because we are being screwed over by the PRC.
The same reason things are cheaper in USA compared to other countries too - slave labor, slave wages, zero employee protections, zero environmental protections etc.
I'm still really upset about Domains being canned. I love how integrated it was with Google Sites, and Workspaces. I hate that Squarespace is my domain register now. :/
I know it's getting harder but I try hard to avoid anything that's Cloud "Only" dependent. When I buy hardware I want it to work without it having to phone home and without needing an Internet connection! I have a huge pile of currently useless technology waiting to be repurposed somehow or used for parts to build something useful . These companies pretend to be concerned about the environment yet they throw a switch and it's instantly junk to go into a landfill somewhere or into the ocean 😮
The OG Chromecast was the first thing I ever ordered online. Got it when I was 13 and just found it in my old room. My brother and I ran that thing into the dirt. What a great little device.
I remember in that announcement event, they said on stage "We didn't want to make a(nother) black box…" Which is ironic, as they instead made a black sphere.
Google really loves the cloud and not giving a local option, that paired with their love of ending support for products means if you buy a google product chances are high you bought an expensive paperweight.
Nah. The price killed it from the beginning. Even if it supported everything, when you could get a streamer and an amp for the same price it’s pointless.
small correction and/or notice: the pixel brand was introduced in 2013 with the gen1 Chromebook pixel, and the gen2 in 2015 but not the phone line from 2016
I am at a loss why any of those "cast" things exist. WHY would you want to cast anything to your TV? Just play it directly via the TVs app, or via whatever mediaserver UI you have, they all work on TVs natively. It's completely baffling.
What if you have a very old TV that was not very expensive when it came out, there still exist a lot of those today and especially did a decade ago! Basically a Flatscreen, not a CRT, but with only picture and audio settings menus, and no smart WI-FI or apps interface OS at all.
I have a dev board with basically the same hardware minus the amplifier, the PandaBoard ES. I did somewhat groundbreaking work with Linux on ARM using that, there weren't a lot of affordable ARM dev boards around when it came out, Raspberry Pi didn't even exist yet (for sale anyway). The PandBoard was $200 at the time, which was a bargain compared to anything else with its class of hardware.
This brings back memories. I was an Android dev when it was released, and received one in 2012. At the time I was doing 'fringe' development projects (Motorola's Webtop to full on Ubuntu), and was crazy enough to even release tuned custom ROMs to expand it's capabilities. In essence, it ended up being my first Android 'TV' device once I got done with it. What's funny is the Q is one of the few things I STILL have from my time as a developer.
I bought a 2 brand new Stadias for 20 pounds each just for the chrome cast ultras and then they released the Bluetooth update so I have 2 really nice controllers for android and pc lol.
Q was an audio amp..With Bluetooth connectivity.. nobody has a good product and clean design for this yet. They tried to wrap too many features into this at once I think. Does cm11 play Google music and yt red content? If so it will likely play some android games too, like the GTA titles.
0:59 This guy doesn't think that awful toupee is actually fooling anyone does he? If you're going to wear a hair piece, why would you pick the most ridiculous and fake-looking hair piece you can find?
I still have my Nexus Q, collecting dust in my basement. Maybe now I can give it a second life. There was an attempt in 2014 but the software mods were not amateur yet.
The instant I saw CM I knew it was going to be a memory trip for me. I used to mod all my Android devices with them until they stopped making them. Man I wish I could run a new CM on my phone.
I miss these days. OEM's and carriers have made it an utter nightmare. That said, they seem to have lessened the bloatware that made it a necessity in the first place.
if you look at it as a device that's only gonna be used for music, it's actually not a bad device. Sonos would be it's biggest competitor, and I think if Google and stuck to that they would've done better with it. A Sonos Amp which is the closest thing to the Q that they offer, costs like $200 more and does less. If they had gone for that it would be a pretty good alternative to a device like that.
As an owner of many failed Google products, I'd rank the Nexus Player with Nexus 9 tablet as the 2 worst Google devices. I couldn't stand to use the Player for more than a few weeks because it was so awful. My Nexus 9 bricked itself.
I don’t remember when I subbed but I liked this video. It was very detailed, informative, fun to watch and entertaining. You guys should make a video about what killed the sega genesis!
Speaking of Google killing products, I have to add Nik software. Nik made, amongst other things, a fantastic program called Capture NX. It was innovative in how it handled localization of adjustments, while still being simple. Google bought Nik, killed just about every product, except some plug-ins It's disgusting how companies get bought for a small subset of what they have and everything else is tossed away. It's the opposite of innovation.
I honestly would have considered buying one purely becuase it wasn't made in China. If they just made it a little box instead of putting so much effort into style points, they probably could have kept the price reasonable.
Hi Ken, can you add "All Videos" to your UA-cam home page? UA-cam removed the "play all" from "all videos" so I can't watch all of your content in order
How do I put it...... Extremely Well Written episode!! I've been watching for a while, but this video is a turning point! Telling a story not just reviewing like most other channels, well done! Subscribe!
The speaker outputs seem a bit weird. They would add a lot of extra cost and I bet most people wouldn't use them. This product was probably geared to complete with streaming amplifiers.
Heres the problem, if this thing came out in 2016, it would have been an instant best seller, you wouldnt have be able to keep this thing in stock if it was more open. really a shame tbh.
Nexus Q successor was actually the Chromecast audio. That came out during the 2nd Gen refresh of the Chromecast. Now Chromecast Audio was discontinued few years ago. In favor of ok Google's products like speakers from 3rd parties. Eventually it got folded in with the Google's Nest hubs and speakers line now.
5:39 I got some groceries, some peanut butter To last a couple of days But I ain't got no speakers, ain't got no headphones Ain't got no records to play
I mistakenly allowed myself to get sucked into the google/nest home devices. Now that they basically run my apartment they're staring to become unreliable and significantly less usable. I'm probably going back to old school light switches soon
I used to work at Google when this thing came out - you have no idea how much effort went into quality audio hardware for this thing. It’s such a shame this thing was cancelled. Everyone was super bummed.
Google's problem is the same problem as always: Being in a niche in a single country in the world. Something similar happens with Apple. In the United States, many people use Apple products. which does not happen in the rest of more than 200 countries around the world.
Yeah i can see how this not take off. It’s all features can be support by smart tv that can be controlled by smartphone easily. Bluetooth speaker also have same use case now days. And the price is just too much lmao
Google has a smart speaker that looks the exact same as the echo dot pretty much. So the Q was pretty much the prototype or the precursor at the very least.
But i want the Nexus Q but with the NEST brand soft, the huge volume button is so cool. but why dont i just 3dprint one :-D and just looked 550 us on ebay for a Nexus Q 😅
Everything being on the cloud is a perfect way to lose all of your music because some mega corporation bought another mega corporation and messed up their licenses. That's ignoring how these services can simply shut down with no backups. It also absolutely eliminates the possibility of listening to anything you want to. Seriously, just download music. Streaming is for convenience only and should not be relied upon entirely.
Technology Connections!!!! Second channel I love that watches TC channel! ❤ The other is Dankpods! Pd: You know? Despite the cube and the Q being the worst failure of their companies...or one of the worst, they're the most beautiful devices they made!
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Enjoy this SPHERICAL experience! 🔔Subscribe and stay tuned for my next episode! I'm aiming for early-mid February. Stay tuned for official announcements.
[this reply has been deleted by the user]
As always you nailed it with history of these devices! Thanks so much!
I like the design but it seems like the kind of thing that was redundant and outdated the minute they started putting it together.
😅👍
this was uploaded 9 hours ago.. HOWW
@@zabobloxgamingoffical haa! I just noticed, how odd. Maybe it was posted before the video went public?🤷♂️
Unofficial on the build name doesn't mean that it was unsupported by Google, it means that it wasn't an official device in the CyanogenMod Repo. the CM repo meant it was getting nightlies from build bots, had an official maintainer, and also met a minimum level of support/quality.
Yup. I'd say it's an important distinction.
This guy Androids.
I was Just about to comment that :)
Thank you. I added clarification in the description and in a pop-up card in the episode.
@@ComputerClanthe man the q the nexus himself
I worked a company specializing in print graphics, engraving, and pad printing. Google commissioned us to imprint the Nexus Q logo on cables intended for demo units of the Q, which were quite impressive. The cables featured braided cable with anodized plugs. Upon receiving a spec sheet detailing the logo requirements, I produced a sample for their approval. However, when four young guys arrived for inspection, they expressed dissatisfaction, stating, "This is not what we were thinking." Despite nailing specifications, they insisted, "We are not using those specs." These guys appeared intelligent and motivated, but it became evident that none of them had prior manufacturing experience. I was not surprized when the whole thing was cancled.
Wow, the sheer arrogance of those guys.
Actually I have a Nexus Q, I was one of the ones having gotten it for free. I was able to actually run my own software on it and it is now a stylish bluetooth speaker with a not that bad audio amplifier - better than all those "speakers" around. A monitor connected to the HDMI port (small screen) shows playlists on my NAS etc. It is a stylish thing on my rack in the bedroom.
You have a server rack in the bedroom?
What software/FW are you running?
@@kg790Guy's smart, free integrated white noise machine.
@@kg790 Who doesn't? (/s but for the record I do have a server rack in my bedroom)
I like the Q's design too, but I don't get why they gave it banana plug outputs instead of cinch and headphones jack.
If you use cheap speakers, they often use a headphones jack for connection, and if you are using better speakers, you want to use a dedicated amplifier setup/AV receiver anyways - to which you would need to connect the Q with cinch, XLR or something like that. And if you want to connect wired headphones to the Q, you would need a headphones jack.
For that reason, it would simply not work in my current setup. I already have an amplifier for my hi-fi speakers (using bare wires instead of banana plugs), to which the TV, HTPC, turntable... are connected. I would need the device to be connected to the amplifier too - but the Q lacks cinch output (the amp's optical already is used by the TV). If I would connect the speakers directly to the Q, I would have, first of all, terrible sound (there is a reason hi-fi equipment is expensive), and second, I would be unable to use them for anything but the Q.
It's actually pretty funny. My dad's closest friend was at that event in 2012 and well when my dad went to go visit him for work one time it was sitting in his office just sitting there as a paperweight 😂 He didn't even know how to use it properly.
Ironically he was using it properly
He was ahead of his time.
Judging by the video intro and comments, Ken is also a head
It makes me so happy to see you use Technology Connections as your airplay demo!
Same. I was hoping somebody else would notice.
We need a "Tech Trio" of Computer Clan, Technology Connections, and Techmoan..... Whenever Tech gets out of hand, call the Tech Trio!!
I noticed and scrolled down to see if anyone else noticed
Honestly, it would be super cool if TC themselves were to reply to this video xD
hope Alec won't copyright strike his video
I was NOT ready to see Technology Connections on here. Two of my favourite UA-camrs in one place holy shit
I concur
That guys a Legend.
14:30 Unofficial didn't mean it was because Google didn't support it. Unofficial means it was an unofficial CyanogenMod build; either this means CM didn't support the device or someone compiled an unofficial build for whatever reason. This was a CyanogenMod ROM that someone ported to the Nexus Q, compiled, and distributed themselves.
Other tags that CM had were experimental, nightly, and snapshot. If it was a fully official stable build it lacked a tag at all. So for example if this was an official build it'd be named simply CM-11-steelhead without the extra tagging.
This. Good old community builds
Thank you. I added clarification in the description and in a pop-up card in the episode.
@@ComputerClan11:25
Fun fact: The "UNOFFICIAL" file name on the zip file means that the CyanogenMod team didnt make the custom rom for it. And it was mostly made by developers that aren't from the team to give other devices the rom. There are some that means "Nightly" which basically means its more for like beta builds.
Ah nightlies 🤩 would the camera app work? Probably not. But was it worth it? Rarely, weeklies were way more stable and still had lots of new features long time before stable build, but there's that element of excitement flashing a nightly that you just can't get elsewhere.
remembered using nightlies for my galaxy s4 when i was 8. Damn i miss those times
@@QuillCWorks:
- Bluetooth (kinda)
- IR
Not works:
- You tell me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Good times 😂
Surprised he didn’t bring up the Chromecast audio. I’ve found it very helpful getting streaming audio into my existing stereo systems. It was cheap and didn’t have any video and was also discontinued
I still have two of those. I absolutely loved mine back when I used it and I am still salty that they discontinued such a fantastic product
I had a neighbor with one. I'm sure they appreciated having Safety Dance added to their playlist several times per day.
I gotta admit at the start when he stopped doing the fish eye lens effect thing, he face didn’t get any less round it was just. Less zoomed in
I watch this man solely to ponder at his magnificent dome. He looks like someone screwed the wrong head on the wrong body. It's so utterly perplexing that no one ever address or talks about how significantly ahead in his field this guy is!
This WAS reused for the Google Nest years later
I was gonna comment this lol
I mean... They don't have audio output, which that has
Was it reused? In general, a much higher percentage of killed Google projects where they subsequently bring in another one involve them binning everything and starting from scratch (yes, I'm still salty about them killing GPM and replacing it with the far inferior YT Music)
There must be at least one Nest device using the same CPU, there's a few bits and pieces in the Git repo for devices with that platform.
mostly no, the original A@H team was dissolved a few months after the cancellation and the Nest folks preferred to use their own in-house solutions.
I was not expecting much at first, but learning it has a 25W amp with banana plugs, is theoretically hackable, and has a music visualizer... super cool! I want one! This is actually a really cool product.
I think this was most likely meant as a tech demo. Basically all parts where recycled
- In-house manufacturing (gained expertise)
- software (> Chromecast)
- hardware (> nest hub, Chromecast)
"UNOFFICIAL" actually refers to it not being an officially maintained Cyanogenmod build.
If it was officially maintained by someone, it would've been called official
It would have actually lacked a build tag entirely unless it was a nightly or snapshot.
At the time of the unveiling I was friends with a bunch of Google employees who said that they had early units and would go on to say how they couldn't understand why the market didn't love the device. That combined with experiences from being recruited by Google at time I came to see how cult-ish working there clearly was.
Black cube of Saturn
I think a very significant part of the tech industry can be described as "cult-ish" at times -especially if you work for or use a competitor-
They serve a lot of Kool-Aid at Google.
Fun fact, Google liked naming ChomeOS releases after Final Fantasy characters. I remember seeing Tidus, Yuna, and Terra.
Imagine if they named their next ChromeOS released Tifa
@@ChaseMC215 Italy's #1 OS.
Chrome... and their Qualcomm "Adreno" 🤔
@@johnnykeys1978Google does not own Qualcomm, what are you talking about. Conspiracy theorists like you turn any fun and innocent topic into the most brain braindead BS ever. 🙄
Isn't there a steam/valve project codenamed Aerith and Sephiroth?
ah the memories. the "orbiting comet" boot animation is actually my own code written in about 5 minutes with the managers looking over my shoulder 😅
You made the boot animation? : o
@@ComputerClan yup! and the cap sense touch sensor on the top of the dome, and i spent days and days tuning the NFC antenna to increase the range. i've got stories lol
@@TubeTimeUS Please share more! :O love hearing from people who worked on these kind of things.
Please, we need a second video with your stories!
@@FlotterOttoOfficialyes
This was kinda the tail end of when Google/Android was at the top of their game. Encouraging hackability and open development. Speaking of Nexus the Nexus S4G was an amazing phone. I still remember Google allowing us testers to try beta NFC contactless payments back in late 2011 and people being blown away by it. I miss those days!!!
5:25 I noticed there's BANANA behind u.. 🤣 it wasn't there before.. 😂
Love the commitment of using the round head of the entire length of the video.
Today I learned that the Q and Stadia had two things in common beyond the obvious "got canceled" factor: Both restricted users to content purchased from Google instead of allowing use of third party storefronts, and both devices ended up being free to the people who bought them. It just took a bit longer in Stadia's case, but Google did refund all those controllers.
Some inconsistencies: androidtv is not rebranded as Google TV. Google TV can be considered as a slightly feature richer version of androidtv. Both coexist side by side.
They mention 55M chromecast and chromecast built-in devices. This includes, and is not limited to, chromecast, androidtv devices, GoogleTV devices.
Yeah, the new TV box that came with my internet provider when I moved out still came with Android TV rather than the new Google TV
I've never heard of this product. But the idea that I can scan my CD collection into the speaker and listen to it is amazing and needs to be a product.
When you implement Google's Widevine DRM, the development test streams include the launch video for the Nexus Q, and the video file is called "oops".
Audio equipment also tends to be more expensive, especially when there's an amp involved.
Yep, compare it to a Sonos Connect today and it's a bargain.
Not so much any more. Look at the specifications shown in the video: Class D amp. The audiofools might turn up their noses at the tech, but class D amps are quite the revolution in consumer audio: They are cheap to make, and so efficient you don't need a big expensive heatsink. That's how the Q is able to fit a low-cost amplifier into such a compact device.
But what if there's an imp involved?
I gotta say, there's a really underrated thing you do in these videos that needs to be more widely done. You define abbreviations! Seriously, why don't more people do this?
Honestly the $299 price might not be that crazy if you view the device as a two channel amp for discrete speakers rather than a simple streaming box. Not sure what the audio quality was, but I do know that there are two channel streaming amps that cost way more (Sonos Amp for example). Now with that said that doesn't change anything about the feature set being a bit lackluster for the price.
I was thinking the same thing, but then you have to admit that the target audience for this device probably doesn't know the difference between active and passive speakers. On the other hand, people who do know would be put off by the low price, as they are used to spending thousands of dollars on their audio experience.
It’s still outrageous to most consumers when, even in 2012 you could get a surround amp for that price. These days you can get a full Atmos receiver or a tube amp for $300. Sure some people will pay more for stuff like Sonos but it’s a small segment of the market.
Fundamentally Google is/was never in a position, brand wise, to sell a device like that. At that price point it’s all about marketing and having a slick UI both things Google are bad at.
The Nexus Q was the shiny expensive object I wanted. The Chromecast Audio is the device I could actually afford to buy, and still works great to this day.
Very much liked that you showed the CM installation! Very accurate and on point. Would like to see more Google killed products!
I would buy a product that was designed and made in the US even though it would be a little more expensive. I think what jacked the price so high up there is the Nexus Q's built in amp.
P.S. Even when I was little I always wonder why was pretty much everything made in China? I asked my Mom and she told me because it was cheaper. I did not ask why it was cheaper then, but I found out years later why, not just because we are being screwed over by the PRC.
Ah yes, thank you United postal Union! We love how you screw up economies in the Americas and help fund international terrorism!
The same reason things are cheaper in USA compared to other countries too - slave labor, slave wages, zero employee protections, zero environmental protections etc.
@@donotryon9389 True but one flaw, if these are the same reasons, why are there still barely anything made in the USA?
the amp wasn't very expensive. the mechanical design wasn't cost reduced and was very hard to build, that increased the cost quite a bit.
@@TubeTimeUS That makes sense.
I'm still really upset about Domains being canned. I love how integrated it was with Google Sites, and Workspaces. I hate that Squarespace is my domain register now. :/
I know it's getting harder but I try hard to avoid anything that's Cloud "Only" dependent. When I buy hardware I want it to work without it having to phone home and without needing an Internet connection! I have a huge pile of currently useless technology waiting to be repurposed somehow or used for parts to build something useful . These companies pretend to be concerned about the environment yet they throw a switch and it's instantly junk to go into a landfill somewhere or into the ocean 😮
I liked the Kronos-style termination animation. Nice reference to The Incredibles!
The OG Chromecast was the first thing I ever ordered online. Got it when I was 13 and just found it in my old room. My brother and I ran that thing into the dirt. What a great little device.
Hearing cyanogen and clockwork mod brings back so many memories of my much loved HTC hd2!
I still have the Android-based little brother of the HD2 - the Original HTC Desire
@pankoza my hd2 have up the beans a couple years ago. I loved it up until then and still do!
I remember in that announcement event, they said on stage "We didn't want to make a(nother) black box…"
Which is ironic, as they instead made a black sphere.
I love how much of the Tech Today is inspired from the small features it offered.
Google really loves the cloud and not giving a local option, that paired with their love of ending support for products means if you buy a google product chances are high you bought an expensive paperweight.
13:34 The banana phone link just leads to his patreon.
Why did it fail? Because Google was busy pondering it instead of developing software support.
Nah. The price killed it from the beginning. Even if it supported everything, when you could get a streamer and an amp for the same price it’s pointless.
@@Alexlfm brah, I was just making a "pondering my orb" reference.
small correction and/or notice: the pixel brand was introduced in 2013 with the gen1 Chromebook pixel, and the gen2 in 2015 but not the phone line from 2016
You should have more subscribers already! I love all your videos, and started watching you in 2018.
That battery looks awesome. I got an anker prime 200w a1336 power bank for use with my ROG Ally, its an amazing battery.
I am at a loss why any of those "cast" things exist. WHY would you want to cast anything to your TV? Just play it directly via the TVs app, or via whatever mediaserver UI you have, they all work on TVs natively. It's completely baffling.
My question is: _do_ they actually exist. Or are they almost all embedded inside TVs?
What if you have a very old TV that was not very expensive when it came out, there still exist a lot of those today and especially did a decade ago!
Basically a Flatscreen, not a CRT, but with only picture and audio settings menus, and no smart WI-FI or apps interface OS at all.
Got a big ole smile out of me since you caught me watching on a gen 2 chromecast
Love your videos. Every time I see the product I think “Oh Yeah! Forgot all about that.”
It's certainly not a contest or anything but this is the first product of his where I've thought, "Wow, I completely forgot about this!"
@@hectorg5809 k
Hey finally a baked in ad for somthing I might actually buy. about time, its only been.... the entire time ive been on youtube.
I have a dev board with basically the same hardware minus the amplifier, the PandaBoard ES. I did somewhat groundbreaking work with Linux on ARM using that, there weren't a lot of affordable ARM dev boards around when it came out, Raspberry Pi didn't even exist yet (for sale anyway). The PandBoard was $200 at the time, which was a bargain compared to anything else with its class of hardware.
I really enjoyed this episode! Thank you and I love the Spongebob reference!!! 🤩
This brings back memories. I was an Android dev when it was released, and received one in 2012. At the time I was doing 'fringe' development projects (Motorola's Webtop to full on Ubuntu), and was crazy enough to even release tuned custom ROMs to expand it's capabilities. In essence, it ended up being my first Android 'TV' device once I got done with it.
What's funny is the Q is one of the few things I STILL have from my time as a developer.
I didn't pre-order a Q, but I wanted to save up for one and was sad when it was "delayed". I did become an early adopter of the chromecast, though.
I bought a 2 brand new Stadias for 20 pounds each just for the chrome cast ultras and then they released the Bluetooth update so I have 2 really nice controllers for android and pc lol.
Q was an audio amp..With Bluetooth connectivity.. nobody has a good product and clean design for this yet. They tried to wrap too many features into this at once I think. Does cm11 play Google music and yt red content? If so it will likely play some android games too, like the GTA titles.
im almost upset when the line came up "what happened next?" it wasn't "What happened nex...us" lolol
0:59 This guy doesn't think that awful toupee is actually fooling anyone does he? If you're going to wear a hair piece, why would you pick the most ridiculous and fake-looking hair piece you can find?
I still have my Nexus Q, collecting dust in my basement. Maybe now I can give it a second life. There was an attempt in 2014 but the software mods were not amateur yet.
The instant I saw CM I knew it was going to be a memory trip for me. I used to mod all my Android devices with them until they stopped making them. Man I wish I could run a new CM on my phone.
It’s called lineageos now
@@2elwNo, LineageOS is a mod of CyanegonMod.
yeah same here, it was the only way to get modern features on your phone back then
You can. It's been renamed to LineageOS but it's still the same project.
I miss these days. OEM's and carriers have made it an utter nightmare. That said, they seem to have lessened the bloatware that made it a necessity in the first place.
if you look at it as a device that's only gonna be used for music, it's actually not a bad device. Sonos would be it's biggest competitor, and I think if Google and stuck to that they would've done better with it. A Sonos Amp which is the closest thing to the Q that they offer, costs like $200 more and does less. If they had gone for that it would be a pretty good alternative to a device like that.
sonos was considered the main competition.
3:50 Saying it was free is a little misleading considering that ticket prices of Google IO were over 1100 USD.
As an owner of many failed Google products, I'd rank the Nexus Player with Nexus 9 tablet as the 2 worst Google devices. I couldn't stand to use the Player for more than a few weeks because it was so awful. My Nexus 9 bricked itself.
I don’t remember when I subbed but I liked this video. It was very detailed, informative, fun to watch and entertaining. You guys should make a video about what killed the sega genesis!
Thanks for watching!
Speaking of Google killing products, I have to add Nik software. Nik made, amongst other things, a fantastic program called Capture NX. It was innovative in how it handled localization of adjustments, while still being simple.
Google bought Nik, killed just about every product, except some plug-ins It's disgusting how companies get bought for a small subset of what they have and everything else is tossed away. It's the opposite of innovation.
Man, I really liked Wave, though a lot of it lives on in Chats and Docs
I honestly would have considered buying one purely becuase it wasn't made in China.
If they just made it a little box instead of putting so much effort into style points, they probably could have kept the price reasonable.
Some employee at Google: Welcome to Google Nexus, [...], and best of all, it is spherical. _SPHERICAL_
Love your videos! Looking forward to the next.
I heard of it when I watched DetroitBORG when I was little. It's still up on UA-cam though.
Hi Ken, can you add "All Videos" to your UA-cam home page? UA-cam removed the "play all" from "all videos" so I can't watch all of your content in order
i couldnt tell when he stopped turning his head into an orb.
Thanks Ken , great and informative video. Have a great 2024 my friend..
How do I put it...... Extremely Well Written episode!! I've been watching for a while, but this video is a turning point! Telling a story not just reviewing like most other channels, well done! Subscribe!
I was too young at the time to really buy this, but I remember people back then lamenting its uselessness and price.
The speaker outputs seem a bit weird. They would add a lot of extra cost and I bet most people wouldn't use them. This product was probably geared to complete with streaming amplifiers.
Can you talk about the Amazon Fire Phone failure?
Heres the problem, if this thing came out in 2016, it would have been an instant best seller, you wouldnt have be able to keep this thing in stock if it was more open. really a shame tbh.
Nexus Q successor was actually the Chromecast audio. That came out during the 2nd Gen refresh of the Chromecast. Now Chromecast Audio was discontinued few years ago. In favor of ok Google's products like speakers from 3rd parties. Eventually it got folded in with the Google's Nest hubs and speakers line now.
5:39
I got some groceries, some peanut butter
To last a couple of days
But I ain't got no speakers, ain't got no headphones
Ain't got no records to play
I mistakenly allowed myself to get sucked into the google/nest home devices. Now that they basically run my apartment they're staring to become unreliable and significantly less usable. I'm probably going back to old school light switches soon
Interesting how the social aspect expected people to actually socialize IN PERSON.
11:49 Hey! I know that guy! He taught me all about incandescent light bulbs, extension cords, kerosene lamps, air conditioners, etc...
Love that guy!
I used to work at Google when this thing came out - you have no idea how much effort went into quality audio hardware for this thing. It’s such a shame this thing was cancelled. Everyone was super bummed.
Google's problem is the same problem as always: Being in a niche in a single country in the world.
Something similar happens with Apple. In the United States, many people use Apple products. which does not happen in the rest of more than 200 countries around the world.
Yeah i can see how this not take off. It’s all features can be support by smart tv that can be controlled by smartphone easily. Bluetooth speaker also have same use case now days. And the price is just too much lmao
Technology Connections mention!
To add to the list of Google apps taken out behind the shed.... My favourite, Latitude.
Google has a smart speaker that looks the exact same as the echo dot pretty much. So the Q was pretty much the prototype or the precursor at the very least.
But i want the Nexus Q but with the NEST brand soft, the huge volume button is so cool. but why dont i just 3dprint one :-D and just looked 550 us on ebay for a Nexus Q 😅
"Why did Google kill you?"
(shakes Nexus Q, turns it over)
Everything being on the cloud is a perfect way to lose all of your music because some mega corporation bought another mega corporation and messed up their licenses. That's ignoring how these services can simply shut down with no backups. It also absolutely eliminates the possibility of listening to anything you want to. Seriously, just download music. Streaming is for convenience only and should not be relied upon entirely.
I download all of my music very safely on very trusted long-standing conversion sites.
the ball popped off and he looked the same lmao
Ironically, I'm watching this on a Chromecast, so I'm glad the Nexus Q walked so the Chromecast could run.
Great video!
The Chromecast will look at it's ancestors and appreciate them so much more
With android 4.4 you can also cast your UA-cam videos from your phone. So nexus q is now basically a Chromecast
Technology Connections!!!!
Second channel I love that watches TC channel! ❤ The other is Dankpods!
Pd: You know? Despite the cube and the Q being the worst failure of their companies...or one of the worst, they're the most beautiful devices they made!
play music is still better than youtube music and i am still mad they killed it
Same😂
Heck yeah! I got BONUS POINTS!!
Chromecast for the win!
so the nexus Q failed because it did not use slave labour for manufacturing.
that's just sad.
They also killed Google music and now Google podcasts to tie it in with UA-cam music.