computer science

Nexus Q

Nexus Q is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Nexus Q rather than just read about it. In short: The Nexus Q is a digital media player developed by Google. Unveiled at the Google I/O developers' conference on June 27, 2012, the device was expected to be released to the public in the United States shortly thereafter for US$300.

Key takeaways

Nexus Q belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Nexus Q to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Nexus Q from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Nexus Q is a digital media player developed by Google. Unveiled at the Google I/O developers' conference on June 27, 2012, the device was expected to be released to the public in the United States shortly thereafter for US$300. The Nexus Q was designed to leverage Google's online media offerings, such as Google Play Music, Google Play Movies & TV, and YouTube, to provide a "shared" experience. Users could stream content from the supported services to a connected television, or speakers connected to an integrated amplifier, using their Android device and the services' respective apps as a remote control for queueing content and controlling playback. The Nexus Q received mixed reviews from critics following its unveiling. While its unique spherical design was praised, the Nexus Q was criticized for its lack of functionality in comparison to similar devices such as Apple TV, including a lack of support for third-party content services, no support for streaming content directly from other devices using the DLNA standard, as well as other software issues that affected the usability of the device. The unclear market positioning of the Nexus Q was also criticized, as it carried a significantly higher price than competing media players with wider capabilities; The New York Times' technology columnist David Pogue described the device as being 'wildly overbuilt' for its limited functions. The Nexus Q was given away at no cost to attendees of Google I/O, but the product's consumer launch was indefinitely postponed the following month, purportedly to collect additional feedback. Those who had pre-ordered the Nexus Q following its unveiling received the device at no cost. The Nexus Q was quietly shelved in January 2013, and support for the device in the Google Play apps was phased out beginning in May 2013. Some of the Nexus Q's concepts were repurposed for a more-successful device known as Chromecast, which similarly allows users to wirelessly queue content for playback using functions found in supported apps, but is designed as a smaller HDMI dongle with support for third-party services.

Development An early iteration of the Nexus Q was first demoed at Google I/O in 2011 under the name "Project Tungsten"; the device could stream music wirelessly from another Android device to attached speakers. It served as a component of a home automation concept known as "Android@Home", which aimed to provide an Android-based framework for connected devices within a home. Following the launch of the Google Music service in November 2011, a decision was made to develop a hardware device to serve as a tie-in—a project that eventually resulted in the Nexus Q. Google engineering director Joe Britt explained that the device was designed to make music a "social, shared experience", encouraging real-world interaction between its users. He also felt that there had been "a generation of people who’ve grown up with white earbuds", who had thus not experienced the difference of music played on speakers. The Nexus Q was the first hardware product developed entirely in-house by Google, and was manufactured in a U.S.-based factory—which allowed Google engineers to inspect the devices during their production.

Hardware and software The Nexus Q takes the form of a sphere with a flat base; Google designer Mike Simonian explained that its form factor was meant to represent a device that pointed towards "the cloud", and "people all around" to reflect its communal nature. The sphere is divided into two halves; the top half can be rotated to adjust the audio volume being output over attached speakers or to other home theater equipment, and tapped to mute. In between the two halves is a ring of 32 LEDs; these lights serve as a music visualizer that animate in time to music, and can be set to one of five different color schemes. The rear of the device contains a power connector, ethernet jack, micro HDMI and optical audio outputs, banana plugs for connecting speakers to the device's built-in 25-watt "stereo-grade" amplifier, and a micro USB connector meant to "connect future accessories and encourage general hack-ability". The Nexus Q includes an OMAP4 processor, 1 GB of RAM, and 16 GB of storage used for caching of streamed content. It also supports near-field communication and Bluetooth for pairing devices and initial setup. The Nexus Q runs a stripped-down version of Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich", and is controlled solely via supported apps on Android devices running Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean". Google announced plans to support older versions of Android following the device's official launch. Media could be queued to play on the device using a "Play to" button shown within the Google Play Music, Google Play Movies & TV, and YouTube apps. Content is streamed directly from the services by the Nexus Q, with the Android device used like a remote control. For music, multiple users could collaboratively queue songs from Google Play Music onto a playlist. A management app could be used to adjust Nexus Q hardware settings. Nexus Q did not support any third-party media services, nor could media be stored to the device, or streamed to it using the standardized DLNA protocol.

Reception Most criticism of the Nexus Q centered on its relatively high price in comparison to contemporary media streaming devices and set-top boxes, such as Apple TV and Roku, especially considering its lack of features when compared to these devices. The New York Times' technology columnist David Pogue described the Nexus Q as being a "baffling" device, stating that it was "wildly overbuilt for its incredibly limited functions, and far too expensive", and arguing that it would probably appeal only to people "whose living rooms are dominated by bowling ball collections." Engadget was similarly mixed, arguing that while it was a "sophisticated, beautiful device with such a fine-grained degree of engineering you can't help but respect it", and that its amplifier was capable of producing "very clean sound", the Nexus Q was a "high-price novelty" that lacked support for DLNA, lossless audio, and playback of content from external or internal storage among other features.

Discontinuation

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nexus Q

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Nexus Q claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Nexus Q before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Nexus Q ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Nexus Q

In research: Nexus Q appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Nexus Q in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Nexus Q is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Android (operating system) devices, Digital media players, Google Nexus, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Nexus Q outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Nexus Q in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Nexus Q means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Nexus Q out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nexus Q in simple terms?

Why does Nexus Q matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Nexus Q?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Nexus Q.