Today marks the debut of two features we’ve been waiting for since Amazon first announced its new Kindle Fire line lo so many weeks ago. Goodreads and Second Screen integration will be rolling out to Fire HD and HDX owners over-the-air in the next couple of weeks – or you can just go to Amazon’s site and download Fire OS 3.1 right now. Goodreads brings social book reading features to the tablet, so you can rate and review books and find out what your friends are reading. Also, good news for those who like showing off their virtual bookshelves – you can actually import all of the print and e-books you’ve bought from Amazon over the years. Second Screen, meanwhile, lets you “fling” shows from your Fire to Samsung TVs and sets with a PS3 attached (PS4 support is coming before year’s end).
Also new for OS 3.1 is added enterprise support, Cloud Collections for organizing content off-device and voice diction. You can download the above in the source link below.
Samba TV, formerly known as Flingo, today released a slew of apps for Sony devices, including Bravia TVs, Blu-ray Disc players, and Blu-ray Home Theater devices patched into Sony Entertainment Network. The apps detect what is playing on your connected smart TV and automatically push related interactive content, which can then be accessed on second-screen […]
ConnecTV, the second-screen app that syncs to whatever you’re watching on TV for an information-rich, social sharing experience, is today rolling out a new feature that lets you select 6-second clips and share them via Twitter, Facebook, and email. The Vine- and Instagram-like clipping feature automatically loads the previous two minutes of the program and […]
Samsung has announced its new SDK that lets developers add screencasting functionality to apps that work in tandem with smart TVs beginning Nov. 12. The SDK also lets developers use multiscreen and overlay features for added device integration, which will help set Samsung apart from Airplay, Chromecast and other competition. The announcement was made today […]
Android doesn’t really have an AirPlay equivalent – its Miracast and Mirrorlink technologies are similar, but lack the kind of opportunity Apple’s tech provides to build second screen experiences that work independently of what’s being shown on the original. That’s why Solution57 created their Remote Application Framework (RAF for short), which goes even further, making displays attached to Android devices work more like displays attached to traditional desktop PCs.
Using RAF, Android devs can build experiences that run an app on a remotely connected display while also running separate software on the host device. The host device runs all the apps, and the receiving one displays its contents. UI is completely separate on both devices, which means that a user can play games while also running GPS on a second attached display. It’s a single system, with who separate displays, just like when you plug a monitor into your MacBook Pro.
It’s not exactly the same, though – the connected display still needs to be running some kind of OS itself, which is why RAF is being touted initially as a feature for in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems. You can imagine how a GM or a Nissan could implement this kind of functionality easily, no matter whether they’re using an IVI based on QNX or any other non-Android software, allowing users to either opt for their own in-built tools, or have an experience where their Android phone can take over entirely, just like Apple is proposing with its iOS in the Car feature introduced with iOS 7.
It doesn’t require any special changes to Android or the individual apps themselves to work, but Solution57 Director Rafal Malewski tells me in an interview that it would help greatly with adoption if RAF became part of the Mirrorlink official specifications.
“For automotive integration between mobile and IVI, to get proper penetration, we need this to get adopted as an extension to the Mirrorlink spec,” he explained. “We have initiated contact to the Car Connectivity Consortium to see if they are interested in picking up the technology.”
Meanwhile, Solution57 is already in talks to a couple of OEMs for non-IVI use of the remote tech. It’s in use in consumer-facing VNC clients that work on Android, iOS, QNX, Windows and Linux, and there are all kinds of potential applications Malewski sees as possible, including for secondary displays on wearable tech, or on smart controllers for Android-based gaming consoles and smart TVs.
Ultimately, Solution57 wants to see this adopted as a built-in technology by Google, which they’d likely hope would happen via an acquisition of the Danish firm. Currently, it’s available for OEM licensing, and the first devices with RAF integrated should start shipping around the middle of next year is all goes as planned, per Malewski.
With the likes of Google’s Chromecast selling of shelves for lack of a reason not to drop a few bucks on the concept, iterations of the idea like Mozilla’s upcoming second-screen support for Firefox are popping up left and right. What we’re seeing here is a very small and early version of what may be […]
After its slow but steady implementation of companion features in its mobile and web services, ESPN is ready to go live with its first dedicated second screen sports app. With its ESPN Sync, the broadcaster will focus first on its Spanish-language channel, ESPN Desportes, delivering real-time news, sports scores and interactive live videos for major sporting events. The company has trialled all manner of real-time features in the past — from tickers, to fly-bys and other additional goodies — but ESPN Sync is the first to tie them all together. It’s chosen a great time to launch too: the app will debut just in time to distract you during the Mayweather vs. Canelo fight on September 14th. ESPN’s new web platform will also play host to more than 60 events over the next year, streaming games from the MLB World Series, NFL Playoffs, NBA Finals and football soccer matches from the world’s biggest leagues. ESPN Sync is available on iOS, Android and desktop devices, but be warned — you’ll only get the most out of it if you know your fuera de juego from your contraataque.
The second screen has largely asked that you take your eyes away from the action, even if that is to play along in real-time. Visual SyncAR, however, brings that tablet or mobile right back into the thick of things. Developed by Japan’s NTT, the platform uses digital watermarksg that presents a timecode to the app running on the second device, allowing it to display content in sync with whatever is on the primary display. In the video after the break you can see the concept being illustrated with playful examples that interact with the program, but more useful applications include the ability for users to pull up subtitles for public information videos, or overlay sign language. Naturally, there’s also a massive potential for advertisers, who we’re sure would be more than keen to embrace the technology, and ably guide you from their commercial to an online outlet or additional promo material. Especially if they’re selling a cure for all that inevitable arm ache…
The Wii U’s launch was a bit rocky, to say the least. Missing features, promised TV services and slow-loading, day-one firmware updates left Nintendo fans frustrated and disappointed. The company is still cleaning up the mess too, announcing that it will push two additional software updates to fix the console’s slogging load times. A quicker console will certainly be welcome, but the Wii U spring updates are missing an opportunity to close a rift that divides Nintendo from its loving customer base: how it handles digital content ownership.
Ever buy an Xbox Live game? You probably know that purchase is tied to your Xbox Live account, and will be available on any subsequent Xbox you purchase. Not in Nintendo’s world; Kyoto’s digital sales are tied to the gaming hardware, not the user’s account. It’s been a sore spot for Nintendo gamers for some time now, and the Wii U was the company’s chance to make amends — except it didn’t. Like its predecessors, the new console locks content to the device it was originally purchased on, imprisoning digital purchases in a physical cage. The Wii U takes content confinement a step further with its support for legacy software, providing a near-perfect example of the folly of Nintendo’s content ownership philosophy: the isolated sandbox of its backwards-compatible Wii Menu.
We’re here at Sharp’s CES 2013 press conference, that it’ll release a SmartCentral second screen and remote control app for its Aquos TVs. The service will offer split-screen TV and web browsing support, and users will be able to “flick” photos and videos from their mobile device to the TV, presumably in a similar manner to Sony’s Throw. The company is also announcing support for Netflix’s second-screen control, previously seen on the PlayStation 3 and a wallpaper mode that’ll help your HDTV blend into your wall covering.
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