Changes are coming, and Microsoft has begun detailing some of the updates and tweaks that Xbox One owners can expect over the coming months. DLNA streaming, threaded messages and a new "Friends" section, and a new media player are all in the pipeline, with some consoles getting access as soon as September.
This week the app known as AllCast has gone (once again) fully live, ready for the Chromecast world first and foremost now that the Google team behind development for the device has released an official Chromecast SDK. This means software developers of all kinds can work on apps that integrate streaming abilities with the Chromecast hardware while the hardware remains up for sale by Google. The AllCast app was one of the first to take advantage of the Chromecast device's abilities before Google was technically ready to allow 3rd party app developers roll forth.
Though the PlayStation 4 wont work with DLNA and MP3 playback right out of the box, it's been confirmed this week by Sony that they'll certainly be looking at incorporating the features in the near future. Due to overwhelming response to the idea that neither DLNA or MP3 playback would be available on the gaming console, Sony seems to have turned a corner on their aim to have them work.
In the weeks leading up to the release of the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4, little tidbits here and there about their abilities have been cropping up, today’s including a bit more information on the media server features on the Microsoft machine. Straight from the folks at Penny Arcade comes word - official word at that - on the streaming features of the Xbox One first and foremost. Then there’s the (hopefully) obvious: this device can also play Audio CDs - classic!
Samsung can't help itself, spraying Android over every possible device, and the latest to get the Google treatment is the HomeSync. A media streaming set-top box - though not a Google TV box - the HomeSync is more a way to further integrate Samsung's phones and tablets into your digital life, rather than a standalone gadget in its own right. In fact, your Samsung handset is what controls the whole thing.
Libratone, maker of felt-covered wireless speakers, has abandoned its obsession with Apple, updating three of its most recent models to support Android and Windows thanks to freshly-added DLNA support. The Libratone Zipp, Live, and Lounge models will all gain DLNA streaming capabilities, piping music from your smartphone, tablet, or Windows PC over your WiFi network. Meanwhile, there's an update to the Libratone iOS app too.
The Apple family of mobile devices are about to get a taste of what it means to be able to instantly connect to your own home network for media streaming magic thanks to Qualcomm's Skifta. This app is being described at the moment as "a first release with feature parity as an eventual goal", meaning it will have some of the features the Android version has presently with a few bits not quite up to speed at launch. You'll be able to work with DLNA, AirPlay, and open wi-fi-connected network devices galore very, very soon.
This morning, the team behind GameStick have announced support for XBMC and DLNA, two of the most sought after features in a product like this. While the company is shipping the GameStick as a dedicated gaming console, they have made sure that users will have the ability to hack the devices and install optional firmware.
With the AT&T MiFi Liberate you've got what's straight up the most advanced mobile hotspot on the planet, complete with a full-color touchscreen, microSD card storage, and DLNA connectivity. This machine is unique in its abilities as well as its physical state, it sitting upright like a tiny folded-over book of notes with AT&T's 4G LTE network under the hood. The hardware here was created by Novatel Wireless and the network is all AT&T, and as this is just one of two AT&T hotspots on the market at the moment, you'll find that the few features it hold above the head of its brethren do indeed make it worth the extra few bucks you'll be paying right out the gate.
If you were looking for a way to work with video content on your brand new Wii U and are a bit bummed that Nintendo's own Tvii might not be coming until sometime into 2013, you'd be well off checking out PlayOn. We had a chance to peek at PlayOn over the past few days and can say without hesitation that yes, indeed, it does work like a charm - bringing you 45 new channels of video content where otherwise you'd have only 4 selections (and Netflix and Hulu are in here too!)
Qualcomm's Skifta music streaming system has found itself an A/V partner, with speakers toting the chip firm's DLNA-based AirPlay rival set to hit stores in the summer of 2013. The Skifta team has inked a deal with Tymphany, a speaker ODM (original design manufacturer) whose hardware is rebadged under various brands and sold in stores like Best Buy, to embed the Skifta Audio Module into future systems as the default, replacing Bluetooth in the process.
Glimmers of a new Samsung tablet have appeared, with suggestions that the company is readying a new, 7-inch Note complete with more pen-controlled Android. The new model - teased as the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 - has cropped in in two forms at the DLNA Alliance, the Samsung GT-N5100 and GT-N5110, with the same GT-N prefix as sported by the Galaxy Note II and Note 10.1.
