When Google announced the Chromecast TV device yesterday, this is what viewers saw: a man holding a dongle. The clear message was that this is different — it's not like an Apple TV or a Roku. It's smaller. Smarter. It plugs into the side of your TV, and disappears. It's not a box.
If you looked up the Chromecast after the event, there's a good chance you would have come across this video from Google. Same message. Same impression. This is a dongle.
Now: this is what buyers will see when they open their boxes and try to set up their actual Chromecasts:
Hm! Google did mention that the device would require and external power supply, but didn't exactly emphasize the point. Unless the buyer has a certain, newer type of TV — and honestly, who knows what HDMI spec their TV has? — they'll end up with a wire hanging out from the end of the dongle. Not a lie, exactly. But also not quite honest.