Google is developing a home-entertainment system that streams music wirelessly throughout the home and would be marketed under the company's own brand, people briefed on the company's plans told the Wall Street Journal. Based on the Android OS, the device is expected to be the first hardware marketed under Google's own name. The entertainment device, in development for several years, is expected to be unveiled later this year, the paper said. The system would stream music from Google's online music-storage service and send it wirelessly to Google-designed speakers or other web-connected devices in the home. It could also stream video in future. Consumers would operate the Google system using a smartphone or tablet, although it's unclear whether the devices would have to be powered by Android. One person familiar with the matter said Google was hoping to offer the entertainment system at more-affordable prices than a similar device made by Sonos, which focuses exclusively on music. At a conference last year, Google executive Joe Britt previewed two home-entertainment devices that are related to the product Google is expected to sell this year. He called them "Tungsten" devices and said one of them could be controlled by an Android tablet and used to stream music and to act as a "bridge" to connect with other home appliances and devices. The Financial Times reports that Google started last month a six-month test of a device that would hook into a home Wi-Fi network while also linking to other devices in the home through Bluetooth connections. The outline of its plans hints at the development of a home entertainment hub with the ability to stream content between devices. The company in late December applied to the Federal Communications Commission for permission to test a prototype of the device outside laboratory conditions, GigaOm reported.
