Nexus Q hacked to run Android games
updated 07:46 pm EDT, Thu June 28, 2012
Developer hacks streaming hub in under 24 hours
Google's new Nexus Q media streaming device has been hacked to run Android games. Just a few hours after Google provided I/O attendees with free Nexus Q units, images emerged on the Google+ account of Apportable employee Christina Kelly, showing the Nexus Q hooked up to monitors and running the game Swords and Soldiers.
Kelly says that the hack was carried out by a software engineer from Apportable. The team simply put the device into debug mode and set about their hack.
Due to the device's lack of a touchscreen, the game is unplayable, but the hack does demonstrate the malleability of Nexus Q, which, Google made sure to point out, was designed for "general hackability." The Nexus Q comes with ports for Micro HDMI, TOSLink Optical audio, 10/100Base-T Ethernet, and Micro AB USB. Just as important, the device runs Android 4.0, has the same dual-core processor featured in the Galaxy Nexus, and sports 1GB of RAM.
In a comment for one of the photos, Kelly appears to hint that the team may next try to hack the device to play sound through wireless speakers.
