Got yourself a QNAP NAS, do you? If you’re also in legal possession of an Android or iOS-based device, you could soon be streaming your dusty Boyz II Men and / or Our Lady Peace jams straight from your network. Over the past month, the outfit has released QMobile apps for both Android and iOS, enabling everything from Google’s Nexus One to Apple’s iPod touch, iPad and iPhone to remotely stream images, tunes and videos so long as their NAS is online (and connected to a halfway decent broadband line). The app is said to work just fine over 3G or WiFi, and there’s even a My Jukebox feature that essentially acts as a shuffle system for those who aren’t too picky about what comes through. Both apps are available now in the Android Market and App Store for no charge, but you’ll probably want to tap those source links and update your NAS management software to v3.3.0 before trying any fancy business. Video promo is past the break, if you need some encouragement.
Well, would you look at that? The v1.2 update to MobileMe iDisk that Apple pushed out last month has a secret — er, did have a secret. One of the concealed new features of the app is background streaming, or as Apple puts it, the ability to “play audio from your iDisk while using another app.” For starters, it’s pretty fantastic just to have this functionality in-hand for your own garage jams, but what’s more is that any licensed music on your iDisk still streams perfectly fine. Only time will tell if any record labels (or that mean, mean RIAA) step forward with a grievance, but this could very well be the beginning of iTunes in the cloud. Or a reason for buying Lala. Or a mysterious combination of the two.
Tired of waiting around for Apple’s “review process” to complete? So was PlayOn. Rather than sticking it out and dealing with the App Store’s near-limitless amount of red tape, the content streaming startup has kicked out an HTML5 web app that enables Hulu (for now, at least) and Netflix streaming to iPod touch and iPhone devices. It’s still hard at work perfecting things for the iPad, but given that it’s completely free to surf over to its mobile web site (linked below), it’s tough to complain with what we’re being given right now. Early testers have praised the app’s speed, and while you’ll still need a Windows PC (yeah, PlayOn still doesn’t have a Mac client) and a PlayOn subscription before indulging on your mobile, at least you’ve got an option that you once didn’t. So, anyone digging the new avenue?
Acer’s Android-powered Stream phone already got official way back in May — and we got our hands on it at Computex in June — but the company has only just now confirmed a launch date. According to Acer, the Stream will be rolling out on August 9th, and it’ll be exclusive to UK-based online retailer Expansys, at least initially. As for the phone itself, you can expect a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, a 3.7-inch AMOLED screen, Android 2.1 for an OS, a 5-megapixel camera with 720p video recording (no flash, though), an HDMI out port, and full DLNA / UPnP support for media streaming (hence the name). Of course, being exclusive to Expansys also means you won’t be getting a subsidized price — look for this one to set you back £399, or just over $600. Full press release is after the break.
Update: And it looks like we’ve got our first unboxing with the final retail packaging. Video’s after the break.
Need another way to get your tunes (whether they be i-prefixed or not) onto your Android celly? HomePipe is the latest, a service offering easy access to files on your home computer via your cellphone. It’s been available for Apple devices for some time now, but a recently added Android app extends the reach of its plumbing system. That mobile app works in conjunction with a desktop version acting as a server, pushing photos, documents, and lots of types of media — including iTunes. HomePipe claims this makes it the “first to ever stream home iTunes music to Google’s Android,” but having played with Michael Robertson‘s MP3tunes service, which uploads your music library to the cloud and allows access from Android handsets, we’re happy to assure the service that it is at least the second. Still, it sounds mighty handy, and for the bargain price of free it’s definitely worth a shot. Video demo and full press release is just below.
In these halcyon days of impromptu Vietnamese gadget reveals, it should come as no surprise that Acer’s Stream has gone from FCC filing to hands-on honey in a few days flat. Now it’s been the subject of a rather more thorough photo shoot in Ho Chi Minh City, and also was kind enough to share a little footage filmed from its five megapixel camera. Sadly, it’s not raw 720p footage that was YouTube’d, so it’s perhaps too early to draw conclusions — but we’ll go ahead and say the video doesn’t look very good just the same. Still, it looks to be yet another intriguing entry to the Android assault, and we can’t wait for the next leak.
Update: Thanks to kreatos for pointing out that there’s a second, albeit shorter 720p video on YouTube as well. We’ve got that embedded below and it does indeed look a good bit better — but you can certainly still tell it came from a cellphone.
If for some reason none of the current Android slates have tickled your fancy, not the Nexus One nor the Droid Incredible nor even the Evo, maybe Acer’s Stream is for you. It sports Nexus One-like specs, with a 3.7-inch AMOLED screen, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, and 512MB of RAM. Its five megapixel camera can record 720p video and it can also play back content at the same resolution with support for Xvid, WMV HD, and others. There’s an HDMI port on-board in case you want to bring that content to the big(ger) screen, and it’ll even act as a DLNA and UPnP streamer on WiFi, with dedicated play/pause, fast-forward, and rewind buttons. This could be the most media-friendly Android smartphone we’ve yet seen, and that it’s already made its way into the hands of a previewer (as shown in the favoloso video after the break) and has passed FCC scrutineering is a very, very good sign that this could be serving up your home media collection soon.
This one needs very little explication indeed. Netflix has just officially confirmed that its currently iPad-only app will be trickling down to the smaller iPhone OS devices. It’s all very teasing and noncommittal as far as the timeframe goes, but who’s not excited about getting the “dessert” to the iPad’s main course?
Having teased us with the promise that they were at least considering the Android platform for their next version of SlingPlayer, the Sling Media team have confirmed to AndroidandMe that the Android client will launch Summer 2010. Demonstrated running on a Google Nexus One and Motorola DROID, among other devices, the app will allow for remote control and streaming of content from a Slingbox over 3G and WiFi.
According to the Sling Media rep, the company are still working on finalising the UI for the app, but it’s expected to resemble what we’ve already seen on the iPhone version. No word on pricing, though given all their other mobile apps are around $29.99, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the Android client hit that point too.
While we all wait patiently for Apple to concoct its own subscription-based, unlimited music streaming service (hello, Lala acquisition!), MOG is jumping on the opportunity right away. Er, almost right away. Down in Austin this week, the company announced that an iPhone and Android app would be out “in early Q2″ in order to bring unlimited music streaming to both operating systems for $10 per month. We’re told that a catalog of seven million songs will be available, but there’s no way to know if 6.99 million are of the “no one cares” variety. At any rate, your monthly fee will also allow unlimited streaming from the desktop, but alas, you’ll be left with nothing but hollow memories should you ever stop ponying up. In related news, Rhapsody has announced (video after the break) that offline playback support is coming to the iPhone, with the updated app expected to be passed along for Apple’s confirmation “shortly.” Granted, the Rhapsody to Go subscription is $5 per month more than MOG’s option, but with all this competition popping up, we wouldn’t be shocked to see that slide lower in due time.
