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JBL reveals wireless AirPlay speaker dock for iPhone or iPod touch
As you can see above, the JBL On Air Wireless AirPlay is a pretty intriguing speaker dock for your iPhone or iPod. Not only does it sport that Dyson-style ring, but it's got an attached FM radio, a dual alarm clock, and even a screen to display the current name and album art of the song you happen to be listening to. As you can tell by the name, it'll connect up to any AirPlay-enabled device, streaming your songs and media wirelessly for your ears to listen to. Looks great. Of course, at home I already have a nice speaker setup in the living room, but this seems like it would be great for a bedroom or maybe even an office space. The dock should be available to the public this spring, and no price has been announced yet. [via Engadget]
Pioneer receiver to gain AirPlay support
Pioneer plans to ship new 5.1 and 7.1 channel AV receivers at the end of the month. These receivers include greater support for AirPlay and iPad, iPhone, and iPod integration. The receivers will have two different iOS apps included with the purchase. iControlAV2 will allow the user to remote control a home theater setup from an iOS device, and Air Jam will create play lists from up to four different iOS devices. The biggest part of the news, though, is that the high end models will include direct support for AirPlay. This feature allows you to connect to the AC receiver wirelessly with your iOS device, and stream music directly to your home theater setup. While AirPlay obviously already exists, there isn't a wide range of home theater devices already using it. AirPlay will only be available on the higher end Pioneer receiver, but that's a step in the right direction. [Via Electronista]
Apple finds another AirPlay partner in Pioneer's VSX-1021 AV receiver
You may have laughed off the assertion made by BridgeCo's VP of Sales and Marketing back at CES, but the man's looking downright prophetic now. Apple has just nailed down yet another major player in its efforts to take over the streaming media world with AirPlay, as Pioneer's VSX-1021 launched today as the first of eight AirPlay receivers the company has planned for 2011. It's a 7.1 channel affair that supports wireless playback of iTunes libraries so long as you fork over a few extra dollars for the AS-WL300 wireless LAN adapter. You'll also need an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or a Mac / PC with iTunes 10.1+, and the new AVR should show up immediately as an available AirPlay device. This particular one will sell for $549, and if you're looking to spring, you should also know about Air Jam and iControlAV2 -- two new (free) apps that turn iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 4.2 into sources for the aforesaid AVR. The latter actually enables full-on control of the receiver from an iOS device, while the former should do a fine job of handling the song selection during your next part. Hit up the source links for the nitty-gritty, and if you venture down beyond the break, you'll find overview videos for the device shown above as well as the Air Jam app.
JBL's On Air Wireless AirPlay speaker dock gets official, unavailable to purchase
When we first peeked this AirPlay-enabled speaker dock, we were admittedly excited to see how things would turn out after it made rounds through the FCC. JBL just tossed up the splash page for the On Air Wireless speaker and we've gotta say -- it looks to be a promising means of streaming your jams. The system connects wirelessly to your AirPlay-enabled Mac and iOS device on 4.2 or later and packs a screen that'll display the track info of the song you're rocking out to. What's more, the rounded grill sports a dual alarm clock, FM radio, and a USB port for future firmware updates. As you might have surmised by now, the dock is not yet available for purchase and there's no word on price. If you're interested, though, be sure to hit the source link, sign up for more info and get ready to headbang this spring.
Philips Fidelio SoundSphere WiFi speakers get AirPlayed
Add one more to the list of manufacturers supporting Apple's AirPlay. Philips just announced its Fidelio SoundSphere speakers that support WiFi music streaming over Apple's new media sharing "standard" from your PC or Mac iTunes library or from any iOS device. Unfortunately, Philips isn't providing any useful detail about these speakers with free-floating tweeters and 360-degree sound. But hey, if you're the kind who buys speakers based on appearance alone, then the €799 (about $1,100 -- nearly twice as much as the Zeppelin Air) price tag for the speaker pair + dock should be no problem when they hit Europe sometime in May. Press release and bonus pic after the break.
AirPlay in 4.3 delivers on access for third-party apps
AirPlay is one of the cooler new technologies Apple has brought us recently, and iOS 4.3 (coming March 11) will allow third-party apps full use of its wireless streaming capability, not just for audio, but for video as well. Apple is already busy approving apps that take advantage of AirPlay's video-streaming capabilities. For example, StreamToMe allows you to stream from a Mac or a PC to your iOS device via Wi-Fi or 3G. In theory, you should be able to send your music and pictures from any app to your Apple TV over AirPlay, but according to GigaOM, it seems that not all your favorite content producers will be playing along. So far, only Vevo has updated its app to support AirPlay when 4.3 comes out. Netflix has said it won't be supporting AirPlay streaming, since Netflix is already available on the Apple TV itself. Hulu, Comcast and HBO haven't decided yet, and ABC isn't interested. The problem for the media companies is rights -- they're doing their best to keep their web content off your television screens because They Fear Change and think they'll lose money if you get to watch what you want, where you want. Let's hope no one thinks of doing an end-run around such shortsightedness with a bit of wire that could link your iOS device to your TV screen -- whoops, too late.
Quick tip: AirPlay with unsupported apps
Back in January, we reported that Apple had begun approving third-party apps that support AirPlay, Apple's new wireless audio streaming protocol for listening to iPhone or iPad music over a speaker system hooked up to a compatible Apple networked device, such as an Apple TV or an Airport Express. But few applications so far have released updates to take advantage of that capability. However, you can easily trick your iDevice to stream audio from an unsupported application to your stereo. All you have to do is go into your iPod app, start a song and choose your AirPlay speakers. Then return to your home screen and boot up the app that has the audio you want to hear. Your iDevice should automatically switch audio source from iPod to the app, because most apps, when booted, retain the current state for audio output, which in this case is AirPlay. Bingo. AirPlay on apps like Hulu, or Pandora! Note that this only supports audio, not video. Apple has also announced some updates to AirPlay in iOS 4.3, coming next week.
Apple iOS 4.3 coming March 11 with iPad 2, includes new AirPlay features and FaceTime
Along with the iPad 2, Apple's releasing the final version of iOS 4.3, which features the Nitro Javscript engine from Safari on OS X, new iTunes Home Sharing features that let you play content from desktop iTunes over WiFi, and the updated suite of AirPlay features from the betas -- including the ability for App Store apps to share audio and video. Apple's also finalizing the new option that lets you assign the side switch to either rotation lock or mute, and it's adding Personal Hotspot support. There's also those rumored iOS versions of Photo Booth and FaceTime for the new cameras. It'll be a free download for all iPads, the GSM iPhone 4, the iPhone 3GS and the third- and fourth-gen iPod touch when it's released on March 11. When will it hit the Verizon iPhone 4? We don't know yet. %Gallery-118175%
Xtreamer Prodigy features AirPlay support, USB 3, and a GUI that will delight fans of Flash (and fans of GUIs)
Looks like the folks at Xtreamer have a few tricks up their sleeves! Following hot on the heels of the company's Ultra HTPC comes Xtreamer Prodigy, a Realtek 1185-based media player and streamer that sports USB 3.0 connectivity, 256MB RAM, 512MB NAND flash, HDMI, an integral IR remote control, a multi-card reader and a 3.5-inch HDD bay. But the real fun here (or so we've heard) is the Adobe Flash GUI, as well as support for such services as Apple AirPlay, Mediafly, Google Talk, Last FM, Pandora, Facebook, and more. The rumored price is €119, which will have to suffice until we find something more concrete (which should be about five days from now). Get a closer look below. %Gallery-117529%
Banana TV will let iOS devices stream video to the Mac
When it comes to making AirPlay sit up and do tricks, we're proud to have one of the best in the business right here at TUAW. Erica Sadun has released a full suite of in-progress Mac apps to work with Apple's video streaming protocol. While AirPlay is intended to allow iOS devices or iTunes to stream media to the current-gen Apple TV or third-party receivers, Erica's AirFlick, AirPDF and Bruce utilities extend the AirPlay universe to allow you to show content, weather/RSS or arbitrary video files and images from your Mac to your Apple TV, all without diving into iTunes. AirFlick even cooperates with Air Video Server to transcode files and streams on the fly, meaning that otherwise-incompatible video formats like AVI or MKV play just fine. Now she's given us a preview of an app that's hopefully coming very soon: Banana TV. This handy tool turns the AirPlay pathway back around, allowing you to play video or images from your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch running iOS 4.2 or higher directly onto your Mac. While you probably have most of the same content on your computer that you have on your iDevice, it's a great way to show videos on a bigger screen when visiting a friend or family member; it also opens up AirPlay streaming from iOS devices your friends or colleagues have with them, even if you don't have an Apple TV (at the office, for example). No word on when Banana TV might be available or at what cost, but it's a sign of very interesting things to come from Erica's secret underground labs. Keep an eye out for more updates to the other AirPlay apps and more new features.
Apple approving third-party AirPlay apps
Appadvice.com notes that Apple has approved a third-party app that supports AirPlay. The app is called StreamToMe and requires iOS 4.3, which has not yet been released to the public, although beta versions have been released to developers. This suggests that iOS 4.3 may be getting close to release for the general public, but more importantly, it signals that Apple is opening the door for other applications to use AirPlay. If you're not familiar with AirPlay, Richard Gaywood wrote a brief intro to AirPlay back in September. [via MacRumors]
iOS 4.3-ready apps begin turning up in the App Store
Apple still isn't offering much of a hint about an iOS 4.3 release date -- other than a busier than usual beta schedule -- but it looks like we could now be one step closer to a general roll out. What appears to be the first app that takes advantage of some iOS 4.3-specific features has now garnered Apple's approval and turned up in the App Store, which would seem to suggest that there's no more major changes or bugs that need to be ironed out (though that can certainly always change). The app itself is Matthew Gallagher's StreamToMe, which runs $2.99 and now incorporates the AirPlay video support that has come to apps in the a latest revision of the OS -- hit up the source link below to check it out for yourself.
AirPlay video support comes to Linux courtesy of Totem media player plug-in
This one's about as unofficial as it gets, but Linux users do now have a relatively easy way to receive and play video streamed to their PC via Apple's AirPlay. To get things going, all you have to do is download a plug-in for the Totem media player (which ships with most popular Linux distributions), install it in the usual Linux fashion, and then start streaming video to your Linux PC with AirPlay just as if it were an Apple TV. That's it. Hit up the link below to find the plug-in, along with some more detailed installation instructions if you need them.
App review: AirView
We just came across a neat little iOS app called AirView which, as you can probably tell from the name, transforms your iOS devices into AirPlay video receivers. And since iOS can also output video via AirPlay, this means you can use AirView to either grab AirPlay streams from your computer's iTunes, or you can stream videos from one iOS device to another (provided that they are both running iOS 4.2 and above, of course). Theoretically, little work is required to get the ball rolling -- just launch the app, then play your desired video clip from the source, and finally pick your client device using the AirPlay button. We say theoretically, because it took us awhile to figure out that none of our purchased videos worked, even though AirPlay supports DRM content -- the assumption is that AirView lacks the component for receiving authorization key. Alas, we stuck with our, ahem, homemade videos which actually worked very well over both iTunes-to-iOS and iOS-to-iOS connections, although sometimes we had to relaunch AirView and the iPod app to start a new stream. Perhaps some folks will have better luck than us, so feel free to give this app a go -- it is free, after all. Video demo after the break.
AirView brings AirPlay reception to iOS devices
If you've been looking for device-to-device AirPlay support, the free AirView utility that just debuted on the App Store offers a simple solution. Offering a no-frills AirPlay receiver, AirView allows you to watch AirPlay video streams from other devices or, if you have AirFlick installed on your Macintosh, from your primary computer. As I've written extensively before, I'm not entirely sure why or when you'd use this option (e.g., "Hey, instead of watching that movie on my HDTV, why not use a 3-inch display instead?" or "Want to watch this YouTube video? Instead of handing you my phone or emailing you the URL, I'll make both of us sit here while I serve the data to you live!"), but there you have it. It's available for download from the App Store, and it works equally well on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. Thanks, Steven TS
iOS 4.3 beta arrives for devs, brings AirPlay video support to apps, personal hotspot and customizable iPad side switch (update: video!)
We'd been disappointed to find that iOS 4.2 only brought AirPlay video support to built-in Apple apps on the iPhone and iPad, but it looks like that's changing soon -- Apple just posted up the first iOS 4.3 beta, which allows devs to send video from apps or websites to an Apple TV. There's also a new beta of the Apple TV software for testing it out -- it doesn't have any version notes, so we don't know if it offers any additional features as well. There are quite a few new features included in 4.3: personal hotspot is indeed included on the iPhone, although it needs to be enabled on the carrier side to work, and the iPad's side switch can now be set back to being an orientation lock, which should make a lot of people very happy. The iPad also gains some multitouch multitasking gestures, which are pretty interesting, actually: you can use four or five fingers to pinch to the home screen, swipe up to reveal the multitasking bar, and swipe left or right between apps. We're also seeing a new FaceTime icon on the iPod touch, which is nice, and 9to5 Mac noticed that the iPad now supports fullscreen iAd banners, which is less nice. Check after the break for a quick video of the iPad gestures. Update: The Photos app has also gained new AirPlay functionality for photos and videos, and there's a slightly tweaked camera shutter sound, as well as bigger app icons in the App Store's Update menu. [Thanks, Matt and Brian]
Boxee demonstrated on iPad at CES 2011
As soon as we heard that Boxee was demoing their iPad version at this year's CES conference, we had to hunt them down and see it. We found them over at Iomega's booth (stay tuned for a writeup of an Iomega product designed to help iPhone backups as well), and asked to see the app. It's about what you'd expect from a Boxee interface -- slick and clean, with four different options across the top. Friends videos are first, allowing you to tune in to any videos your friends have flagged on various social networks. Featured videos is the second option, where you can watch any videos that Boxee wants to show off. Watch Later allows you to watch any videos you've marked on the Boxee service. And Files is the last option, letting you pull up any videos (in almost any format) stored via a Boxee media server on a Mac or PC on the same network. As you watch any of the videos, you can click a button in the iPad's interface that will also send that video right off to your own Boxee installation to watch. It's pretty awesome -- browse around for a video on your iPad, set it to start playing, and then either watch it there, or send it AirPlay-style right out to your Mac, PC, or a media player equipped with Boxee. Boxee says the app will be released for free later on this year, with another version for iPhone and iPod touch eventually as well.
Apple AirPlay devices set to explode in 2011
Although DLNA may have had a significant head start, the streaming media standard available on more than 9,000 devices is about to be challenged in a very big way by Apple's upstart AirPlay technology. At least it will be if Jordan Watters, BridgeCo's VP of Sales and Marketing, is to be believed. BridgeCo as you'll recall, is the company that makes the silicon for AirPlay devices -- currently an exclusive arrangement we're told. While Apple may have thrust BridgeCo into the consumer spotlight, this ten year old company has a long history of quietly providing networked media processors and connectivity software to a who's who of audio companies. Here at CES we've already seen three speakers from iHome, the Zeppelin Air from B&W, and a trio of speakers from the previously unannounced AirPlay partner Klipsch rolled out. And this is just the beginning. According to Jordan Watters, AirPlay devices could ultimately dwarf "made for iPod" audio docks by 2x to 4x. Part of the reason for Jordan's optimism is the fact that so many iOS devices have already been sold and that many audio devices already on the market using BridgeCo chips can add AirPlay functionality via a software update, including the nine receivers just announced from Denon and Marantz. "The ecosystem is already there," he said smiling. And unlike iPod docks which are usually sold at a rate of one per iOS device, Watters sees consumers purchasing multiple AirPlay devices for every iOS device sold in order to enable whole-home distributed audio. In fact, growth could come as a "step function ramp sucking into the market," Jordan enthused. In other words, he expects AirPlay growth to be explosive. We'd chalk up the hyperbolic talk to Jordan's marketing role if it weren't for the abundance of anecdotal evidence supporting his claims here at CES. To start with, the company's modest meeting room was packed with interested manufacturers poking around BridgeCo's AirPlay offering. Jordan's also booked back-to-back-to-back with meetings until the show ends (and into the coming weeks we suspect). But what really convinced us was an all-in-one speaker prototype from a major consumer electronics company that was quickly whisked away before meeting the sensor beneath our D300's lens. If they're involved, well, we expect the rest will follow.
iHome iW2 and iW3 AirPlay wireless speakers hands-on sneak peek
iHome's big announcement here at CES is the AirPlay-enabled iW1 wireless speakers, but the company also gave us a quick sneak peek at the iW2 and iW3, two new smaller systems that are due to be released... sometime. Both systems are essentially identical internally, with two low-range drivers and two tweeters, but the iW2 is laid out horizontally, while the iW3 is a tower. Since they're designed to be cheaper fixed satellite speakers for around your house, they don't have internal batteries or the iW1's grab-and-go charger, but they do pick up Ethernet ports, and you can still use the new iHome Connect setup application. No word on price, but the iW1 is $300 and these are meant to be cheaper -- we'd guess $200 or so. %Gallery-113272%
Denon and Marantz release AirPlay update for $49
Denon and Marantz announced that owners of select AV receiver models can download a highly anticipated AirPlay update. The update will let you stream video from your iOS 4.2 device or from your iTunes library on your PC or Mac. Receivers eligible for the update include, Denon AVR-4311CI Denon AVR-3311CI Denon AVR-991 Denon AVR-A100 Denon N7 Networked CD Receiver and 2.0 Channel Speaker System Marantz SR7005 A/V Receiver Marantz AV7005 A/V Preamplifier Marantz NA7004 Network Audio Player Marantz M-CR603 Networked CD Receiver Denon and Marantz originally promised to deliver the update for free until November 7, but the company missed that mark and is now delivering the update for the full $49. Denon and Marantz are not the only AV company embracing AirPlay. Earlier this week, both Klipsch and Bowers & Wilkins announced AirPlay-compatible AV equipment. [Via Engadget]
