Looking to expand its presence in the living room, Google this morning announced a new living room device called Nexus Q, a spherical streaming media player that works in conjunction with phones and tablets running the Android operating system.

It’s priced at $299, and will be available in the U.S. to start. The device streams movies, music and television from the company’s Google Play service, controlled by Android devices.

On stage at the Google I/O conference in San Francisco, the company demonstrated the ability for social media playback, with different Android users playing content through the same Nexus Q device when visiting a friend’s house, for example.

The move puts Google in more direct competition Google with Apple, Microsoft, Sony and other companies that offer standalone media devices in the living room.

Earlier in the keynote, Google announced plans to release an Android-based tablet, the Nexus 7.

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