Cord Cutters: Our review of Plair, which promises to be AirPlay for the rest of us
Can a $99 HDMI stick turn any TV into a smart device capable of AirPlay-like streaming of web content? Check out our Plair review to find out. Read more »
6 ways to watch your own videos from your iPhone or Mac on your TV
A guide for how to watch one of your home movies in the privacy of your own home using the Apple TV, a Mac or an iOS device. Read more »
Taking it to the home turf: YouTube adds AirPlay competitor to its iOS app
iPad users can now beam YouTube videos straight to their Google TV device, thanks to a new AirPlay-like feature added to the latest app update. Read more »
HBO Go adds AirPlay support, but still no Apple TV app – and definitely no online-only offering
HBO is bringing its HBO Go service to more screens by adding AirPlay support – but it’s not ready to offer an online-only subscription any time soon. Read more »
The story behind DIAL: How Netflix and YouTube want to take on AirPlay
Watch out, AirPlay: Netflix and YouTube are working on an open second screen protocol, and they’ve already secured support from key CE makers and content platforms. Read more »
Skifta’s new iOS app brings DLNA and AirPlay together
Streaming music from your iPad to your connected TV just got a whole lot easier: Skifta, a popular DLNA media shifting app for Android, released an iOS version on Wednesday. Read more »
AirPlay for everyone? Zapstreak outs Android SDK with more in store
The SDK makes it relatively simple for Android apps to stream content to any DLNA-enabled device, from TV sets to stereos. Next up? Similar SDKs for Windows Phone 8 and iOS. Read more »
YouTube for Google TV gets AirPlay-like functionality
Google TV just got a little more Apple-like: Android users can now use AirPlay-like functionality to send videos from their mobile phones and tablets to their Google TV devices. Google has said that it wants to bring that functionality to other platforms as well. Read more »
Apple TV adds shared Photo Streams, simpler account switching
With Monday’s software update the Apple TV is looking like an increasingly necessary part of the company’s overall vision for how iOS users access and share their content from all their Apple devices. Read more »
Android HiFi app turns Android devices into AirPlay speakers
Thanks to Apple’s AirPlay, it’s easier than ever to stream content over Wi-Fi between Apple devices. And Android devices too thanks to Android HiFi, a free mobile app that lets you listen to your iTunes library wirelessly on an Android phone or tablet. Read more »
Hulu Plus lands its own channel on Apple TV
The subscription version of Hulu is now available on Apple TV. Adding the channel was sort of an obvious move on Hulu’s part because of what Apple has done with its Airplay feature that lets users stream their Mac or iOS screen to their TV. Read more »
Subscriber Content
Takeaways from connected consumer’s second quarter
Tablets featured prominently in the connected consumer space, both as a product category and as a component of broader platform strategies by major OS providers Microsoft, Google and Apple. Meanwhile Facebook began laying the groundwork to add payment processing to its platform. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Retailers & ‘the Apple demographic,’ plus 4 other Apple stories to read today
Here’s our daily pick of stories about Apple from around the web you shouldn’t miss. Today’s installment: the young, spendy Apple demographic, how design patents have become essential, Sprint’s curious sales woes at Apple stores, Airplay as Trojan horse, and conflicting reports of Verizon iPhone sales. Read more »
Qualcomm’s plan to win the battle for the digital home
Qualcomm Atheros is bringing the power of its Skifta DLNA Android app to routers, set-top boxes and other home gateway devices: Router manufacturers can license the Skifta Engine for their own hardware. But for Qualcomm, capturing the living room is just a first step. Read more »
Subscriber Content
Who and what to watch in the new era of the living room
The adoption of tablets, social media and new interfaces and the changing nature of the TV itself mean the digital living room will continue on its path of rapid change, thanks to new ways of creating, viewing, bundling, distributing and selling content. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Windows PCs get an AirPlay-like wireless speaker: Aperion Aris
Apple devices have enjoyed wireless music playback through AirPlay speakers, but Windows users generally have been left out in the cold, until now. Aperion’s Aris wireless speaker lets Windows 7 and Windows 8 Consumer Preview computers pipe tunes wirelessly using Microsoft’s “Play To” feature. Read more »
Who wants DoubleTwist unlock codes? Here’s 25.
Earlier today, I shared information on the latest update to DoubleTwist, the media management software for Android. Rather than just read my experiences with the app, the DoubleTwist folks kindly offered 25 unlock codes for GigaOm readers, so if you hurry, you can get them here. Read more »
Epson launches wireless projection app for iOS devices
Well, it’s 2012 and our iPhones still somehow don’t come with built-in pico projectors. But at least Epson has a new app that lets you wirelessly connect to a projector to display your slide shows, quarterly earnings forecasts and vacation photos. Read more »
HDMI alternative, MHL: Your phone’s best-looking secret
MHL promises to turn your mobile phone into a portable set-top box, capable of playing photos, videos and games on the TV screen via a cheap five-pin cable. It’s already supported by more than a dozen handsets — but hardly anyone knows about it. Read more »
The new litmus test for apps: How well does it AirPlay?
Few things impress people about the Apple TV in demonstration more than AirPlay mirroring, which is available on both the iPhone 4S and iPad 2. And that’s exactly why developers should focus on delivering unique and creative AirPlay solutions to help their apps stand out. Read more »
iHome iW1 AirPlay speaker review: A new kind of iPhone stereo
IHome was among the first to announce a third-party speaker with AirPlay built-in, but it took a while to get here; about a year from first appearance to release. So after a such a lengthy development period, how does it perform? Read more »
What’s still missing from iOS 5, iCloud and OS X
While Apple delivered an overwhelming batch of updates, new features and new software in recent weeks, there are still some loose ends it could stand to tie up. Read on to discover why features like iMessage, Siri and AirPlay mirroring still feel somewhat incomplete. Read more »
Samsung wants to own your first, second and third screens
With its latest Free the TV Challenge, Samsung is looking to extend its influence beyond just the TV with apps that create converged experiences among multiple devices. That could improve the experience for consumers and give them reason to buy some of its other products. Read more »
AirPlay and iPad boost Apple’s video market share
Apple’s share of the online video sales market is on the rise again after a falling considerably due to new competition, a new study reveals. The market share growth is small, but it also brings increased revenue and a roadmap toward more growth in the future. Read more »
VHX optimizes its social discovery site for the iPad
VHX.tv is going mobile in a big way. The social video discovery startup, which launched its website earlier this year, has optimized its platform to work on Apple mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad. It even has AirPlay for watching videos on your Apple TV. Read more »
How to stream Spotify to Apple TV and iOS devices
One thing that iTunes has over Spotify’s online music service is its wireless connectivity to the Apple TV. But it is actually possible to get the same kind of connectivity with Spotify, and use it from any room in your house. Here’s how. Read more »
4 things the last 4 years of iPhone tell us about its future
Apple’s iPhone is four years old today. During that time, we’ve seen many improvements, both in terms of software and hardware, for Apple’s little smartphone that could. Here’s what all the change tells us about Apple’s future moves for the iPhone. Read more »
Live learning and conferences get a boost from Ustream AirPlay update
Ustream is a popular choice for live streaming shows, lectures and events. Now iOS users have the option to view that content on a larger screen via AirPlay, which should make it easier to participate in virtual conferences and take the show on the road. Read more »
You wanted apps on your Apple TV? Apple delivers with AirPlay Mirroring
Since the second-generation Apple TV was released, people have been wondering if and when apps would arrive on the device. But Apple hasn’t opened up the Apple TV to third-party developers; or it hadn’t before it unveiled iOS 5 this past Monday. Read more »
Nintendo’s Wii U takes its cues from the iPad
Nintendo unveiled its next-generation console today, with the Wii U, which features a tablet-like controller. We couldn’t help but think that Nintendo, far from innovating in this instance, borrowed liberally from the iPad and the way people use it for gaming and watching TV. Read more »
The 5 best iOS 5 features not highlighted at WWDC
Apple highlighted 10 features of iOS 5 at its WWDC keynote, but there are over 200 new features coming to devices when the update arrives in July. Here are another five awesome things iOS 5 will do to shake up your iPhone or iPad. Read more »
Watchlater Is Instapaper for Video on Your iPad
Even if you have a 3G-capable iPad and a mobile data plan, you might not always have access to a stable connection. That’s a situation Watchlater, a new iPad app that caches online video for later viewing, is hoping to make more bearable. Read more »
Apple’s AirPlay Arrives on Android: DoubleTwist
Android smartphones and tablets can now stream music, videos and photos to AppleTV over Wi-Fi using the doubleTwist AirSync application. A quick test of the software shows that its simple to configure and can pipe digital media output to AppleTV with the tap of a button. Read more »
Apple’s AirPlay Seed Begins to Take Root
Last year, Apple introduced a sleeper agent that, while better than its predecessor, still wasn’t fully active. That agent was the Apple TV, and it wasn’t until the recent release of iOS 4.3 and the expanded availability of AirPlay that its true potential became apparent. Read more »
AirPlay Gets Unlocked — and Apple Should Leave It That Way
AirPlay’s wireless music streaming just got a lot more useful, thanks to developer James Laird, who used the private key employed by Apple’s AirPort Express when it streams iTunes music to create an open source emulator which accomplishes the same feat, called Shareport. Read more »
EyeTV Gets AirPlay Support for DIY TV Everywhere
If, like me, you eagerly comb the App Store for new apps that support AirPlay, an update to Elgato EyeTV should have you excited. It brings AirPlay to the streaming video app, which lets you watch live or recorded TV from your cable or satellite box. Read more »
AirPlay Licensing Deal Could Be Apple’s Real Living Room Play
Apple is considering offering AirPlay video streaming to third-party device manufacturers via licensing, Bloomberg reports. It’s an idea that could provide a lot more presence for Apple in the living room, but also potentially cost the Apple TV its tentative foothold there. Read more »
iOS 101: How to Use AirPlay on iOS Devices
iOS 4.3 brings expanded AirPlay support to iOS devices, so long as you have hardware new enough to support the update. Since third-party apps can now get in on the AirPlay action, it’s a good time to look at exactly how to use it. Read more »
Apple Posts New Guided Tours for iPad 2, Including iMovie and GarageBand
Eager to see the new iPad 2 in action? Apple has posted some guided tour videos detailing a number of the device’s software features, including previews of the new GarageBand and iMovie apps. Also included are demos of FaceTime and AirPlay, plus many other features. Read more »
AirPlay Apps Add New Value to Locally-Stored Video Libraries
This morning, iOS video streaming app Air Video got AirPlay support, making it easy to keep your movie collection with you everywhere, but only if that collection is stored on your own Mac. It’s a good reminder of why subscription services aren’t all rainbows and sunshine. Read more »
