Looks like the iPad might not have an exclusive on those new “multitasking” gestures unearthed in the latest iOS 4.3 beta, because BGR‘s got some shots up of an purported internal build that seem to indicate Cupertino intends to push them down to the iPhone line as well. Now, there are a couple of obvious red flags here — using “four or five fingers” sounds pretty unreasonable for a 3.5-inch display, though it’d certainly tie in with recent rumors that Apple’s turning sour on the physical Home button and might indicate that the complete redesign we’re hearing about could include a slightly larger display. Of course, it could also indicate that this is really early software with the wrong (read: iPad) wording — but at any rate, we could definitely see the benefit of, say, a two-finger gesture to swipe between apps.
Now, on to part two: 9to5 Mac seems to have unearthed traces in the iOS 4.3 beta of a new feature called “Photo Streams” that seems to be — you guessed it — a way to share continuous streams of photos with friends you approve, presumably through MobileMe (which would fit in nicely with the Find my Friends stuff). Alone, that’s not worth $99 a year — plenty of other services offer similar functionality — but we wouldn’t be surprised if this were bundled in with a bunch of MobileMe refreshes this year.
Update: We just received an interesting tidbit of information on the above pic (and others that BGR has its hands on). According to sources, after the iPhone 4 barroom debacle, Apple made significant changes to how it keeps track of — and identifies to third parties — its devices. Namely, the company began adding clauses to screens on the phones which read “Confidential and Proprietary, if found, please contact…” followed by a 408 number (that’s Cupertino, of course). This prevents any misunderstanding from parties who may come across these devices. So what does it all mean? Well, not much, save that it seems these photos we’re viewing are in fact the real deal… which means gestures may be headed to your iPhone. Intrigue!
Wonder why Motorola’s set-top-box business got bundled in with the phones? If we had to guess, it’s probably because Motorola Mobility is making a device that will wirelessly join both. Speaking at the Reuters Global Media Summit, company president Daniel Moloney said that Motorola’s working on a standalone device that will wirelessly sling video to tablets and phones in the home, and will later be integrated directly into new set-top-boxes the company rolls out. “It’s one consumer proposition that will come sooner rather than later,” he told the crowd, suggesting that the device would be available through “service providers” rather than sold off the shelf, and that said providers might charge an additional service fee for its use. Here’s hoping not. Perhaps Qualcomm finally found a buyer for that FLO TV spectrum, though?
And now, there’s a name. The iDevice streaming adapter that we spotted a couple of months ago finally has a proper affiliation, with the PCD Bigstream being quasi-revealed today as the run-up to CES continues. Fundamentally, it’s pretty simple — just plug a nub into the 30-pin Dock Connector of your iPod, iPhone or iPad, and then connect the tent-like transceiver to your television. Once connected, users will purportedly be able to beam “Netflix, Direct TV NFL Sunday Ticket To-Go, and iTunes content, among other apps,” directly to their set sans cabling. It’s difficult to tell if PCD has actually landed licensing agreements with these media portals (or if it’s just really, really good at circumventing DRM), but all should be revealed at the 2011 edition of CES next month. The system relies on a 5.8GHz wireless RF link to distribute signals, and as you can tell, it’s entirely more flexible than AirPlay — a protocol that can only stream video from Apple’s own iPod and YouTube applications. Curiously enough, the first version will only support 480p transmissions, though a 1080p model should hit shelves later in 2011. Here’s hoping we’ll get a good look at how exactly it performs in Vegas.
Because not every smartphone has a full 1080p resolution (yet), KDDI‘s R&D Labs have come up with a new method for massaging the most out of HD movie streams while on the move. You’ll still be able to pummel your poor mobile device and connection with the full-res stream, should you wish it, but KDDI’s innovation is in developing a system whereby you can zoom in on particular parts of the feed, have the stream cropped to your requirements on far-off servers somewhere, and then receive only the stuff you want to see onto your device. And because of your phone’s aforementioned pixel deficiency, the employment of this technique will most often result in negligible picture fidelity loss, if any. The biggest benefit, however, might be to carriers like KDDI who end up having to carry less data back and forth, even if it does come at a slight server-side cost. Video after the break.
Got yourself a big new Windows Phone 7 device and need something to fill its screen with? Sling Media has your back with its SlingPlayer Mobile app, which has hit the Marketplace just in time to earn its Launch App Partner achievement. Pricing for the software is set at $30 in the US, C$32 in Canada, £23 in the UK, and €21.10 in Europe plus local tax, though you’ll obviously need to have a Slingbox to communicate with as well. It ain’t cheap, but good things rarely are.
Update: We’ve also just come across a signup page for news updates on an iPad version of SlingPlayer Mobile. It’ll be priced identically to the company’s smartphone offerings, at $30, and looks to be coming soon. Thanks, Blake!
That WP7 third party apposphere just got a nice boost from SlingPlayer, which has announced its intention to soon be present and accounted for on Microsoft’s new platform. What we’ve got today is a quick teaser video showing off the live TV streaming capabilities under Windows Phone 7, along with the remote set-top box controls and a switch for turning the stream’s quality up. Sling Media promises up to four times the resolution available on previous Windows Mobile versions and draws a launch window around the woolly concept of “soon.” See the moving pictures after the break.
In case you’ve got some fundamental issue with Apple’s upcoming AirPlay, or just a fifth-gen iPod nano you’re unwilling to part with, here’s a handy little adapter for you. Produced by Cywee and likely to be sold for around $99 by PCD in the US, this RF streamer plugs straight into your iDevice’s dock connector and then beams video, pictures, games and the like over to its nearby base station, which in turn hooks up to your television by a set of RGB cables. Any app that utilizes Apple’s video output API is a candidate for having its visuals sent over, though resolution is unfortunately capped at 480p and you’ll need line of sight at a distance of no more than 15 feet for everything to work correctly. Just to make sure we’re all appropriately underwhelmed by its current product, Cywee promises an 802.11n WiFi variant that’ll handle 1080p and output via HDMI for next year. Great, we’ll just wait for that one, why don’t we?
There. That feels better, doesn’t it? Windows Mobile loyalists (yeah, all eight of you) who have been holding off on switching for inexplicable reasons now have a reason to celebrate: Spotify’s live on Windows Mobile 6.x. That sweet, sweet music streaming action that other mobile platforms have been enjoying for months is finally on Microsoft’s now-ancient smartphone OS, but the real news is that the team already has a build ready to go for the forthcoming Windows Phone 7. As you’d expect, these versions will allow users to search, browse and play back millions of tracks, stream over WiFi / 3G / 2.5G, play music sans an internet connection (offline playlists) and wirelessly sync between a local computer and a mobile. Windows Phone users should point their browser to m.spotify.com to get their download on (or hold off for it to hit the Windows Marketplace), and those who are still feeling timid can catch a beautifully narrated promotional video just past the break.
Before the iPhone, the iPod, and iTunes, there was Napster. The original gangster of digital music distribution has undergone many changes since its heyday as a pirate’s Shangri-La, though this latest one seems to be the most fitting. A new app for the aforementioned iOS devices as well as the iPad has been launched, giving you the full Napster experience in a more portable form factor. That means that for $10 a month you can stream and cache music from a library of 10 million songs — yes, offline listening is available too — essentially turning your iDevice into the Apple equivalent of a Zune Pass-equipped music station. Good times ahead, eh sailor?
We knew this was coming and here it is: the Netflix application, heretofore reserved only for iPad users, has trickled down to iPhone and iPod touch devices. Version 1.1.0 makes the TV show and movie streaming app universal — so long as your universe is known as iOS — and looks to massively expand the available audience for Netflix’s mobile effort. What are you waiting for, go get it already.
Wonder why Motorola’s set-top-box business 
