For a good long while, it looked like the Google Chromecast -- the TV dongle that streams content from the web and mobile devices -- would never expand its range of compatible apps. Now new apps that are Chromcast-compatible are coming fast and frequently, including Rdio, Crackle, and Vudu, announced today.

The Chromecast is Google's latest, and more successful, attempt at taking over the living room. The little HDMI thumbstick drive-sized gadget plugs into the back of your HDTV and allows you to stream or "cast" content from mobile apps and the web through your home entertainment system.

Priced at $35, and initially launched with Netflix support (along with support for Google Chrome, YouTube, and other Google services) it's hard not to snap up this little device. But the list of other third-party apps to support the Chromecast was slow to grow at first.

But now that Google has released a public software development kit, more apps are joining the Chromecast family every week. This week on Tuesday, Rdio, Crackle, and Vudu announced support for the Chromecast. If you're not familiar, these three are pretty good additions to the casting universe.

Rdio is a popular personalized radio subscription service with one of the largest music libraries, available on-demand for $10 per month. That goes directly against Google's own Google Play Music subscription with the same fee, but Google has known that for living room dominance, it needs the Chromecast to be open to all comers, including competitors. Rdio announced Chromecast compatibility with all Android and iOS apps, as well as through the web with Mac or Windows Chrome browsers: "Music fans can access Rdio's massive catalog of over 20 million songs or start a station easily, all from Chromecast on their TV."

Speaking of which, Vudu's on demand video rental/buying service is in direct competition with Google Play Movies, but it's here to stay as well. The Walmart-owned Vudu streaming service lets fans stream in full 1080p HDX, offering recently released titles like The Wolf of Wall Street and Gravity.

Finally, Crackle, owned by Sony television, also joined the Chromecast party today. Crackle isn't the most technically revolutionary video apps, but since it's Sony's, it offers a rotation of content you will have trouble finding anywhere else, if at all. And its free.

For Jerry Seinfeld fans, Crackle's addition of Chromecast support is great news. The service offers a few archived episodes of Seinfeld, along with the comedian's new hit web show Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. Other TV shows include Damages, The Shield, The Larry Sanders Show. There's a whole range of documentaries, comedies, and classic action films that are also available on Crackle, and now available on your Chromecast.

Google also announced a "new era of squirrel entertainment" on the Chromecast, allowing the little critters to watch squirrel videos directly on their TVs.


Of course, Google announced this for April 1, which is the day when every tech company launches the most ridiculous joke product they can think of. (April Fools!)

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