(CNN) — Forget the applications like video and audio streaming, or the built-in speakers. The most noteworthy feature of Google’s new Nexus Q device may be this: It’s made in the United States.
When Google rolled out the device at its developers conference in San Jose, California, on Wednesday, reporters noticed the words “Designed and Manufactured in the U.S.A.” etched onto the bottom.
The gadget, about the size and shape of a Magic 8 Ball, is billed by Google as “the first social streaming player.” It can be connected to a TV, has its own speakers, and can stream music and video from the cloud as well as connect an Android tablet or phone with home electronics.
Google hasn’t played up its origin, even though the vast majority of electronics are manufactured in China or other countries where labor is cheaper than in the U.S. A Google spokeswoman did not immediately reply to a message seeking comment for this story.
But The New York Times reported Thursday that it had been given a brief tour of the plant, which it says is about 15 minutes from Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California, and that “hundreds” of employees appear to work making the Nexus Q. The tour was given on condition that the Times not report the factory’s exact location.
