Google has announced a very low cost alternative, and what looks like a great competitor, to Apple's Apple TV.

The small dongle simply plugs in to one of your TV's HDMI sockets and allows users to stream content from their smartphone, tablet or laptop straight to their television.

Chromecast is available now in the US and costs just $35 (≈£23) but there's no word yet on when it'll be available internationally. You can buy it here.

Importantly, the device works with not just Android but with iOS and Windows too.

At the moment you can stream content from Netflix, Google Play, YouTube and there's also a Chrome browser.

This isn't Google's first attempt at penetrating in to the lucrative TV/Living room market. Over the last few years there have a been a few little known products such as the Nexus Q and Google TV, all of which completely failed.

I can't wait to try this out but what do you think? Will you be buying one? Comment below.