Google had more hardware surprises in-store during its Google I/O 2012 opening keynote. Besides the Nexus 7 tablet, Google is also releasing the Nexus Q.

The Nexus Q is black spherical Android powered mini-computer, which Google calls the first social streaming medial player. Inside is an OMAP 4460 SoC, the same one that powers the Galaxy Nexus (full review right here), dual-band Wi-Fi, ethernet, NFC and Bluetooth.

It has a built-in audiophile-grade 25 watt amplifier together with optical and digital audio output and a micro-HDMI socket. It’s able to stream music, movies and TV series from the cloud with plenty of social interaction and discovery features.

The Nexus Q is available for pre-order starting today for $299 directly from the Google Play Store, though it’s US only for now, and will start shipping in July.

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