Google has been trying to beef up its presence in living rooms around the world for some time, but despite the failure of its Google TV platform, the company now has a much stronger product with its Android TV offering.
The crown jewel of the Android TV platform so far is Google"s own Nexus Player, which it unveiled alongside the Nexus 6 smartphone and Nexus 9 tablet back in October. Months after going on sale in the US, the device is launching in the UK this week.
The Nexus Player is now available for pre-order on Amazon UK, priced at £79.99. The listing states that it is "due to be released on March 26" - but curiously, Google itself has not yet commented on its UK launch plans for the device.
Built by ASUS, the Nexus Player runs a TV-friendly version of Android, offering access to movies, TV shows, music, apps and other content fit for the big screen in your living room. It comes with its own remote control, which also acts as a microphone into which you can speak voice commands to help you find and play content.
But Google also describes the Nexus Player as "a first-of-its-kind Android gaming device", something it made a big deal about during its launch event. "With Nexus Player, you can play Android games on your HDTV with a gamepad," Google said, "then keep playing on your phone while you"re on the road."
Over in the US, the controller costs $39, but it"s not yet clear if it will be sold in the UK.