One of Google’s biggest announcements in the first day of the I/O event was the Nexus Q media player device, meant as more of a competitor to the Sonos media player than to a set top box like Apple TV. Google wanted to show the capabilities of NFC and Android Beam streaming through this device, and built it to be the first “social media player”, which basically means  that you can have your friends play their own media (music or videos) from their own devices, on your Nexus Q device and TV.

Specs

• CPU – Texas Instruments OMAP 4460 dual core Cortex A9 @ GHz + PowerVR SGX540 GPU
• System Memory – 1GB LPDDR RAM
• Storage – 16GB NAND flash memory
• Micro HDMI (Type D)
• TOSLink Optical audio (S/PDIF)
• 10/100BASE-T Ethernet (RJ45)
• Wireless Connectivity:
  • Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n
  • Bluetooth
  • NFC
• Micro AB USB (for service and support)
• Banana jack speaker outputs
• Amplifier – 25W class D (12.5 watt per channel)
• Power Supply – Integrated 35W switching power supply
• Dimension – 116mm (diameter)
• Weight – 923 grams

Price & Availability

To use the device you simply need to tap it once, and then through NFC, your phone or tablet will load up the Nexus Q application. Finally, you can tell it what media files to play from your device. The Nexus Q will cost $299, which seems a little steep, but music and Android enthusiasts might want to pre-order one from the Play Store right now. It will arrive in mid-July, in the same time with the Nexus 7 tablet. If you want, you can also get accessories for it, such as the Triad Bookshelf Speakers, which are available for $400 in the Play Store, as well as high fidelity stereo speaker cables.