Can Google beat out AirPlay with Android’s streaming alternative?

AirPlay is a fantastic bundle of technology that Apple has assembled and shipped for years. Audio, video, and even a live feed of your screen can be sent wirelessly to your AppleTV using either OS X or iOS. It’s simple, and works consistently – provided you have a strong network connection.

Thanks to this technology, your AppleTV becomes a game console, jukebox, and web browser with a simple tap. Android has made huge strides in usability and out-of-the-box features in the past year or so, but this is still something that it’s lacking.

As we reported yesterday, GigaOM has published an article about a rumoured push from Google to compete with AirPlay that really got me thinking. AirPlay is more than a sum of its parts. It isn’t just screen mirroring standards like Miracast or WiDi. It’s not just a way to stream music or movies. It’s a seamless experience that enables the television to become a useful tool instead of a dumb box. AirPlay isn’t just the protocols it is built around. It’s an experience that Google needs to replicate and surpass going forward.