Turn any Android device into a Chromecast with Cheapcast [video]

If the early reviews and crazy sales are anything to go by, Google’s Chromecast is set to be game-changing device. But if you can’t wait to get your hands on one there is another, potentially cheaper, workaround.

Cheapcast is an app that mimics the hit device’s functionality by giving any tablet or phone running Android 2.2 or higher the ability to stream from Chromecast-enabled apps to other devices on the same network.

And if the device acting as a receiver has a small screen, you can even plug it in to your TV with an HDMI cable, effectively giving you a slightly bulkier DIY Chromecast. Cheapcast does warn that the app is still in the early stages, so it can’t — for instance — display Chrome Tabs and some of its other functions might be a little buggy.

That said, it seems like a pretty nifty way of retooling any old Android devices you might have lying around the house.