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RealVNC brings smartphone display mirroring to Panasonic's in-car system
Panasonic's automotive division, also known as the Automotive Systems Company, has just announced a collaboration with RealVNC to replicate your smartphone screen for control on your car's dashboard. The two firms have already worked together on the project for the past year, but have recently stepped it up to include integration of additional technologies like MirrorLink into Panasonic's Display-Audio infotainment system. According to RealVNC's press release, the system has "already been adopted by a major automotive manufacturer" and is currently available as a dealer option, though we're not sure which automaker that is. This isn't the first time RealVNC has explored its automotive potential -- it's partnered with Sony in the past, for example -- but it's certainly a sign that the tech is getting more mainstream. For more on the RealVNC and Panasonic partnership, take a peek at the press release after the break.
RealVNC teams up with Sony to bring Android apps to the dashboard
Sony and RealVNC have announced a partnership that aims to liberate your smartphone's applications and content, bringing the wares to your car's dashboard. Once a VNC-enabled vehicle and Android handset are paired, users can access and manipulate the device's applications, music library and stream web content directly to the car's infotainment system. In order to preserve public safety, and meet "regulatory requirements," the system can detect vehicle velocity and will revoke the proverbial keys to your mobile kingdom while you're in motion. The RealVNC code will be bundled with "all new 2012 Xperia handsets" and the accompanying VNC Automotive software has -- according to the press release, anyway -- "been widely adopted by the automotive industry." What's more, the VNC goodies will allow Sony support specialists to troubleshoot your Xperia handset remotely, should you request such assistance. Mosey on past the break for a look at the full announcement.
Intel Developer Forum (IDF) 2011 wrap-up
We came, we saw, we conquered -- and just like that, Intel's Developer Forum was over. Much like years past, Chipzilla was proudly beating its own drum: we saw demos of Ivy Bridge and Haswell, a healthy helping of Ultrabooks and of course its high speed interconnect du jour, Thunderbolt. But that doesn't mean we didn't see a lot of other random, mind-stimulating otherness. Did you catch all the treasures we found lurking deep within the halls of this year's show? Unfortunately, we can't tell from here, so you better hop past the break for the full listing and find out.
RealVNC demos BIOS-based server at IDF 2011 (video)
VNC (Virtual Network Computing) is one of the of oldest remote desktop solutions around, and while its RFB (remote framebuffer) protocol can require a little more bandwidth than the competition, it's long been praised for its broad cross-platform support and elegant simplicity. Last year, RealVNC teamed up with Intel to incorporate a bona fide VNC server (using hardware encryption native to vPro chipsets) into the oldest bit of PC firmware -- the BIOS. As such, you can securely control a remote computer's BIOS, mount a disk image, and install an OS from the comfort of your living room halfway across the globe. The future is now -- you're welcome. Take a look at RealVNC's IDF 2011 demo in the gallery below and our hand-on video after the break. %Gallery-134215% Dante Cesa contributed to this report.
Jaguar XJ with BlackBerry integration hands-on (video)
This week at BlackBerry World 2011, Jaguar is showcasing one of its lovely XJ sedans outfitted with a prototype of its upcoming Connect and View technology which the car manufacturer is developing together with RIM, Denso, and RealVNC. Like Terminal Mode, the system allows a client running on the vehicle's head unit to connect to a server installed on a BlackBerry smartphone. Communication is handled by VNC -- a platform-independent remote framebuffer protocol, which mirrors the handset's display on the car's infotainment screen and maps the device's physical buttons to softkeys. This provides control of the phone directly from the center stack of the XJ sedan but lets the company block potentially distracting apps. Audio is piped via Bluetooth while VNC traffic is routed over USB, thus also keeping the BlackBerry conveniently charged. Jaguar hopes to have Connect and View in its vehicles by late 2012. Until then, check out our hands-on video (above) and the press release after the break.
Jungo and RealVNC partner up, aim to marry phones and infotainment systems
Quietly, in-car infotainment systems have progressed greatly here at CES 2011. What started a few years back with the integration of SYNC into Ford vehicles has blossomed into an industry-wide obsession, and now two of the biggest names that work behind the scenes are joining up to better integrate mobiles (and applications) with vehicle entertainment systems. Jungo and RealVNC's newfound bond has resulted in a CEA-approved solution to make that kind of magic happen, and it's one that just so happens to support Terminal Mode. The combined Automotive Connectivity middleware will enable a car's head unit to automatically detect, access and control mobile devices in the vehicle and display their content on the screen in the dashboard. The design combines VNC (remote access and control) technology from RealVNC with Jungo's tech, featuring device connectivity, media and network management, USB and Bluetooth protocol stacks. Hard to say when automakers will grab hold of this stuff and start offering it from the factory, but if we know anything about progress in the automotive industry, we'd say we're still a year or so out.
RealVNC adds "iPod Out" so cars can display iOS device screen data
RealVNC, the company behind the original VNC remote computing protocol, has added iOS to the list of devices that are supported by its VNC Mobile Solution for Automotive. In general, VNC (virtual network computing) allows users to see the display output from another computer over a network. It's commonly used to manage servers that are running without an attached monitor. While a number of automakers have integrated iPod/iPhone control functionality, many of them have implemented rather clunky user interfaces. VNC Mobile will allow the actual iOS interface, including Cover Flow or even Google Maps, to be displayed directly on the larger in-dash touchscreen in the car. This way, a user could just use the larger display to manage what they are listening to without fumbling with the iPod or iPhone. The new version uses the "iPod Out" feature that Apple has built into the latest versions of iOS to provide this capability. Check out the video in the second half of the post. The demo video actually shows the capability of the VNC software to display the output of a smartphone using a Nokia N900. RealVNC is utilizing the newly implemented capabilities in iOO 4.1 to do the same thing. [Via Macnn]