Prior to Google I/O 2013 there were many rumors indicating that Google was to release a new product called the Chromekey. However, we never heard anything more than just a bunch of rumors, but now the topic has been resurrected, and it looks like we could be seeing a Chromekey after all.

It is rumored that the Chromekey is a HDMI dongle that interacts with your smartphone, tablet and computer to stream video, music and other content to a user’s TV, in addition to extending a users Chrome experience.

According to an anonymous source that claims to work for Google, the Chromekey also enables the user to use the Chrome browser on the big screen with some additional and exclusive functionality built-in, which makes it perfect for TV use.

Chromekey works by plugging into one of your TV’s HDMI ports. The Chromekey is powered by a USB cable (which can be plugged into the AC adapter that is included or a USB port on your TV). Once the Chromekey is plugged into a power source and wired into your TV (via HDMI cable), it connects to your WiFI network and automatically updates to the newest software.

Once the Chromekey has updated to the latest software, you will be able to “CAST” the Google Chrome browser from your computer, phone or tablet so that you can use a fully functioning Chrome browser on any display.

Believe it or not, the Chromekey isn’t all about Chrome. In addition to using the Chrome browser on the big screen, you will also be able to mirror content from YouTube, Google Play, and Netflix directly to your TV. If you don’t feel like using one of the applications from the Play Store, you could always use the Chrome browser to load sites such as Hulu, Vimeo, Google Maps and whatever else takes your fancy!

It would make sense to assume that all of the Google Chrome applications will receive an update in the near future, bringing a ‘CAST’ icon to the browser and that when the “CAST” icon is pressed within the browser, it will turn blue to inform you that you are mirroring your browser window to a TV – very much like what you see on the current YouTube application and when using AirPlay on iOS devices.

The Chromekey has a lot going for it in terms of specifications, considering this is possibly the first generation of a truly revolutionary HDMI dongle. We should be seeing a HDMI dongle featuring a single core processor, 512MB of RAM, 2GB of storage, 1080p resolution, VP8 (mirroring for Chrome) and 802.11 b/g/n WiFi capability.

It is reported that the Chromekey will launch for a reasonable price of $35 on Google Play, obviously this does not include shipping. However, according to sources Google may offer free shipping if you pre-order the device via the Google Play store.

There’s still no official statement on a launch date, but considering the detail in the rumors it seems more than likely that we could be seeing this tremendous Google device in Google’s famous ‘coming months’.

• SourceOMGChrome