Sony to launch TV dongle to take on Google’s Chromecast dongle

Sony plans to launch a TV dongle that would allow users to download apps and stream online content in a way similar to that of Google's Chromecast dongle.

The Bravia Smart Stick set for release later this year would give Sony TV owners the opportunity to stream online content to a TV set and convert any HDMI TV into a smart-TV.

The dongle has Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, YouTube, and Google Chrome all pre-installed with many more apps available for download at the Google Play Store.

Thanks to a smart feature users can browse the internet on the TV set even with the TV show running in a sub-window. It differs from Chromecast, in that it comes with a remote that has a microphone for voice control, a touch pad, and traditional remote control buttons.

On the negative side, however, is the device's steep price, set at $149.99 - a lot more expensive than the Chromecast's $35. This, analyts state, could limit its success against the Chrome.

The exact release date for the Smart Stick has yet to be announced, with the company expected to announce this, along with regional availability, later on this week.

Google's Chromecast, however, is available only in the USA with a UK release date yet to be announced. Also whether the price would remain at its current level in other territories had to be decided.

The Bravia Smart Stick, however, is not being positioned as a competitor to the search giant's dongle. 

The Smart Stick connects only to Sony TVs from 2013 onwards and is priced five times the Google product.

However, according to commentators, it might attract customers ready to shell out the cash to plug more wholly into Sony's 'media experience'.

The Japanese company is claiming that the user interface of the device "seamlessly integrates Google and Sony's own Bravia apps, allowing viewers to stay in a single menu to launch any of their apps."

This meant that users would not have to switch inputs to get to live TV, and that Bravia branded apps that Google lacked (eg Hulu Plus) would be folded into a single experience.

The Smart Stick also features its own remote control, including a built in touch pad and microphone (to allow for voice-controlled Google searches) and functions as a remote for user's TV –allowing for reduction of controller clutter.