The Asus Nexus Player signals the landing of Android TV in the UK. Sharing the same name with Google's own Nexus lineup of tablets and phones, Asus' hockey puck-shaped media streamer gives you a barebones look at what to expect from Google's upcoming living room invasion. Is it any good though? We plugged one into our telly to find out.

The good

Google has partnered with tech company Asus to bring you the Nexus Player, and it's a slick-looking piece of kit that's minimalistic and will look good under your TV. It's small enough to grab in one hand, and shares more in common with a coaster and a hockey puck than some wares from rivals like Roku. It's powered by a quad-core Intel Atom processor clocked at 1.8GHz, along with 1GB of RAM, graphics courtesy of a PowerVR Series 6 GPU, while there's 8GB of onboard storage at your disposal. It also packs in 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1 and it has Google Cast features so it can take over from your Chromecast.

Hooking it up to your TV and getting started is incredibly easy - all you need to do is plug in the power supply and HDMI cable, both of which handily get tucked away under a recessed cutout, so you won't have cables everywhere. There's also a microUSB port on the back. Once powered on, you're guided through a few menus, and the included remote makes it a doddle to go through the settings and get connected with your Google account, and you can simply load up a website on your phone or laptop and tap in a PIN to get started. That means you won't be faffing around with the Lollipop-style keyboard much.

Getting around Android TV is a piece of cake with the remote, as you're given a selection of boxes to scroll between and select what you want. Based on your search and viewing history, you might be suggested a handful of YouTube videos, or Plex movies you've started watching but not finished, and you can also use the built-in mic on the remote for voice searching. We found it quick to pull-up results, and like the Fire TV, you can ask it all sorts of questions, such as "films starring Brad Pitt" and it'll pull up all you need. It's quick too, and we barely noticed any slowdown hopping from menu to menu, or when flicking through Netflix.

The bad

Simplicity is, unfortunately, a killer here. While the minimal puck looks great under your TV, it?s missing other connectivity options. You won?t find optical audio connections for hooking up a better pair of speakers or a soundbar, nor will you find an Ethernet port for a consistent, wired connection which would be handy if your Wi-Fi is not great in your house.

The included 8GB of storage is barely anything either - you only get 5GB to play with, which is quickly filled if you're downloading all sorts of games and apps. The microUSB port is also frustrating, as you'll have to sideload a file explorer to actually make use of that added space - not exactly ideal for novice users.

Although the remote just about does the job, it isn't the best we've seen bundled with a player. There are fewer buttons than the Fire TV remote, and while the buttons have a solid, resounding click, we were left wanting a higher quality remote as it feels a little flimsy and cheap.

That simplicity also echoes our biggest complaint: there's a complete lack of apps. If you point your remote over to the Google Play Store you'll be able to check out almost all the apps available in less than a minute. The likes of Netflix, VLC Player and Plex available, but you won't find any of the big catchup services downloadable, and you can forget about any major music apps either. Both the Roku and Amazon Fire TV offer plenty more apps and games, and come in at a lower price point too - and that's a crucial point if Google want to really battle it out in the living room.

Asus has also made an optional game controller to work with the Nexus Player, costing ?34.99, and it unfortunately feels far too small to be comfortable in the hand, and it?s not like there?s a great choice of games to for it either. We're sure there are more apps and games on the way, but for the moment, there's just not enough available to really warrant a dedicated place in your living room.

The bottom line

Asus? Nexus Player is a slick little puck that gives us a mere glimpse at what Android TV can do, but it?s let down by a sparse selection of apps, choppy gaming powers, a cheap-feeling remote and an awkward gamepad that feels a bit too small in the hand. ?79 is an awful lot, especially compared to Amazon?s Fire TV and Fire TV Stick. If you really want YouTube on your big-screen and you?re desperate for an Android TV box though, it?s your only bet for now.