WirelessMirroring
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Microsoft's got a wireless display fix in the works for Surface users
Sure, the Surface 2 supports Miracast, giving you the power to beam the contents of your screen wirelessly to some other, larger display. But not everyone has a compatible HDTV, which leaves us with that messy wired situation and that's no good for 2014. Ah, but there is a solution on the way and it's one Microsoft is hiding (in plain FCC sight) for the time being. That accessory, non-creatively dubbed the Surface Wireless Display Adapter, is none other than an HDMI dongle Microsoft's crafted to enable wireless mirroring for those of you with Surface 2's, or Pro 2's, and out of date HDTV sets. The filing doesn't reveal much about the adapter's design, but we do know that it supports dual-band WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n and could possibly see the light of day sometime this August. Or at least, that's when the filing's short-term confidentiality agreement is up. Regardless, at some point this year, you'll have another surface on which to surface the contents of your Surface. You get the point.
AllShare Cast wireless streaming dongle for Samsung Galaxy S III -- hands-on (video)
If you're looking to pair up a brand new GS III with a bigger screen, but you're not yet part of the Smart TV generation, then this little accessory could get you out of a fix. It's palm-sized with a single blue LED light indicating a connection, but honestly you don't ever need to look at it: it doesn't need line-of-sight to your handset because it uses a wireless protocol called WiFi Display, which means you can happily leave it dangling out of the way behind your TV. The unit has two cables: one for power and the other for the HDMI connection to your TV, which can transmit up to 1080p video and audio. As you'll see in the hands-on video after the break, it works for direct mirroring, so you can watch movies, play games or reel off holiday slideshows. But it also has a more enterprise-focused feature, in the form of a slideshow function in cahoots with the Polaris Office app, which means you can use your GS III as a controller for a presentation. It's a simple idea, but it all seemed to work smoothly and we can imagine it coming in pretty handy.
HTC Media Link HD display mirroring box gets FCC rubber stamp
Amid the rush of news during HTC's presentation at MWC was a brief mention of a Media Link HD accessory for wireless big-screen mirroring from the One S or One X. Fresh FCC paperwork suggests the device is on track for an April release and also highlights that it's been revised since HTC's first foible-prone attempt at a DLNA dongle: the Media Link HD does 1080p over 802.11n to any HDMI-equipped TV, instead of just 720p, and promises to mirror games as well as videos, photos and music. Pricing hasn't been made official, but retailers have it on pre-order for around $120 -- potentially still too expensive, even if this one works better than the last.
Texas Instruments dual WiFi module lets your tablet connect to your TV and the web simultaneously (hands-on)
Texas Instruments is helping to lead the way when it comes to mobile computing -- when we want an early look at what's to come months and even years down the road, TI is always one of our first stops. At this year's Mobile World Congress, the semiconductor leader wasn't shy about showing off its latest innovations, including those from its manufacturing and design partners. Today's demo focused on wireless video streaming -- a concept that engineers are approaching from every imaginable angle, and that is bound to make its way to consumers in a very big way within the next few years. TI's flavor is based on WiFi, and offers a dual-connection solution, letting you pair a tablet with a TV using peer-to-peer while also creating a second link between the tablet and a wireless router for Internet.We took the tech for a spin using one of TI's development platform tablets and an external WiFi dongle (shipping versions will be integrated), and everything worked as described, though the video stream was noticeably choppy and compressed. TI reps explained that they dialed down the bitrate in order to maintain a connection at the MWC expo hall, which, as you might imagine, probably had a wireless signal density greater than any other room in the world. The tablet we saw was running a very slick context-aware UI that displays one of three home screens based on your current location -- there's one for work (that displays your calendar), one for home (media and home automation controls) and another for travel (restaurant reviews and weather). Pushing content from the tablet to the TV seemed to be seamless, and while both the UI and wireless functionality may appear to be ready to make their way into your home, TI isn't making any announcements about availability. There's no need to wait for a teaser, however, which you'll find just past the break.%Gallery-149212%
