Google’s Chromecast doesn’t have much of a user interface. When you plug it into a TV and turn it on, the Chromecast simply boots to a “Ready to Cast” page and waits for you to send commands from your phone, tablet, or PC.

But it looks like Google could eventually add support for a news ticker, photos from your Google+ feed, or advertisements to that start screen.

Ready to Cast

In a recent app teardown, the folks at Android Police noticed code suggesting the Ready to Cast page could eventually let you pick themes for the background images on the Ready to Cast page. There are also hints that News, Offers, and Recent Photos could be on the way.

Software developer Leon Nicholls reports that the Ready to Cast page is basically just a web page, and that adding content to it would be as easy as modifying the HTML.

There’s already JavaScript that suggests banner ads could be added to the screen, which would allow Google to serve ads to users when they first turn on the Chromecast, giving them something to look at while deciding what they want to watch on their television screens.

I don’t know a lot of folks who are clamoring for more advertisements in their lives, but with Google already selling the Chromecast device for just $35, it’s not hard to imagine a future where the company practically gives them away and makes up for any lost revenue through advertising.

via Chrome Story

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2 replies on “Chromecast start page could eventually show news updates, photos, or ads”

  1. How long after ads start showing up before some group (like XDA developers) come out with a modified image that removes the ads and adds other features? I am betting not long.

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