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Samsung Internet for Gear VR is exactly what it sounds like; it's a web browser from Samsung designed for the Gear VR headset. The browser is mostly only used for navigating to WebVR experiences, but Samsung has added a few useful improvements in the latest update, including support for content blockers and streaming from DLNA servers.
Lenovo has taken the opportunity at its Tech World 2015 conference to announce the Lenovo Cast, a new accessory that aims to mirror your Android device's screen to the TV. The device is puck-shaped and connects through a cable to the HDMI port on your television.
Like a number of other device manufacturers, HTC releases some of its apps into the Play Store. From there, HTC devices can receive updates more quickly than waiting for over-the-air firmware updates. Apps remain exclusively available on the company's hardware, so this does nothing to open them up to more users.
Synology, purveyor of network attached storage, has brought updates across the range of their Android interfaces for their products. Perhaps most interesting and useful is the latest update to DS photo+, which now allows you to stream photos and video via Chromecast or DLNA from your Synology NAS. If you utilize the private cloud setup offered on many of their devices, this could allow you to take your personal media to work, friends, or wherever else you may want to go.
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Bubblesoft, the developers of the popular BubbleUPnP app, have published a server equivalent for Android. Previously, you could run a BubbleUPnP Server on Windows, Mac, Linux, Raspberry Pi, or a NAS. Then you could use the player app on Android to access or share your local media. Now your Android devices can also be used as a server, but with several important caveats. At least if you know where to find the app.
AllCast developer Koushik Dutta has added DLNA server support to his media Chromecasting app. Now anyone with AllCast installed can stream media straight from their DLNA servers to a Chromecast device with minimal effort.
The Google Cast SDK is only just escaping its confines as a developer preview, so it’s not surprising to see a few bugs turning up in some odd places. A couple of simple, but potentially telling glitches started appearing after Google Play Services 4.2 began rolling out a few days ago. This latest update is causing the list of Cast targets to fill with incompatible DLNA-enabled devices and duplicate Chromecasts.
Chromecast streaming is all the rage right now, but BubbleUPnP has been reliably streaming local audio and video to compatible devices like the Xbox 360, PS3, XBMC, or any Universal Plug and Play or DLNA devices for months. Today the app has been updated with a special treat for root users: an "Audio Cast" mode that expands BubbleUPnP's streaming capability to include most third-party apps like Spotify or Google Play Music. Check out the demonstration below:
It should come as little surprise that many of us who own multiple Android devices trust Google to tend to much of our music streaming needs. Even if you don't subscribe to All Access, Google Music offers one of the easiest ways to access your personal collection across multiple devices, including smartphones, tablets, and PCs. But what about your TV? Your Xbox 360? If you want to stream music from Google on devices that aren't officially supported, Cast To UPnP/DLNA For GMusic, from the developer of BubbleUPnP, has you covered.
After a period of silence and uncertainty, Samsung released the floodgates of information about its Galaxy Tab 10.1 flagship tablet a few minutes ago. The ultraslim tablet will launch on June 8th at a single location - NYC's Union Square Best Buy of all places. If you don't happen to live in New York City, on the same day the Tab 10.1 will be available for pre-order in-store and online, ready to finally slip into your hands on June 17th nationwide.
Next up in the seemingly endless line of future Android phones we know almost nothing about: one of Verizon and LG's future LTE devices.
In the excitement of HTC’s unveiling of the Desire HD and Desire Z in London, we missed out on this sweet little gadget. HTC announced plans to release a Media Link wireless DLNA adaptor in Q4 2010, as a companion piece to its continued expansion of the Sense experience.