Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Kingston Wi-Drive - PC Magazine

Design, File Support, and Streaming
Flip over an older iPhone 3G or 3GS, and you could mistake it for the Wi-Drive. The small drive measures 4.8 by 2.4 by 0.4 inches (HWD), and won’t take up too much space in your bag. It has a minimal look, with a logo on its front along with a light that blinks when data is being transferred and LED indicators for Internet and device connectivity. The Power button lives on the right; it blinks when it’s charging and glows when it’s on. Otherwise, there’s not much to see here.

In my mind, the most compelling reason to buy the Wi-Drive (unless you bought a 64GB device and just really need more storage) is that it makes it easier to add content to your devices. Rather than relying on iTunes, managing your content is a simple, drag-and-drop operation. When you plug the Wi-Drive into your computer (PC or Mac), it shows up just like any other external hard drive, and you can drag and drop files right onto the drive. Kingston suggests organizing your files into folders like “Music” and “Videos,” but you don’t need to.

You can add any type of file to the drive, but you’ll only be able to stream files that iOS devices support. For me, that limit was felt most in video, since the Wi-Drive won’t play .AVI files. Music, images and documents are more versatile.

The companion to the Wi-Drive is a free app that connects to the drive and streams content. The app is where you control everything on the Wi-Drive, from setting an optional Wi-Fi password to upgrading the firmware. The upside is that the interface is better than just using a file manager, and initiating the connection is as simple as launching an app; the downside is that it means, at least until Kingston develops more apps, you can’t stream content to anything other than an iOS device (iPhone, iPod (ipod touch firmware 3.1.3 download) touch, or iPad).

Once you download the app from the App Store and install it, getting content playing is simple. Turn on the Wi-Drive, and wait for the blinking blue light that means it’s broadcasting. Go to Settings on your iOS device, and choose the “Wi-Drive” Wi-Fi network. (The Wi-Drive supports 102.11g and n.) Once you’re connected, just fire up the Wi-Drive app and it’ll automatically catalog what’s on your drive. (Once, I had the app hang while trying to look through the hard drive, but a quick restart solved the problem.) Select a file to view from the simple, list-based menu, and it plays back in the app.

Kingston Wi-Drive Screenshot

You can stream from the Wi-Drive to as many as three iOS devices, which makes the drive a perfect solution for family car trips. I tested that theory, streaming the same video to an iPad, an iPhone, and an iPod (ipod touch firmware 3.1.3 download) touch simultaneously. The Wi-Drive worked well, and streamed to all three devices without any noticeable drop in quality. There was, however, a longer buffering period when more than one device was connected, as well as the occasional stutter in playback that I never encountered with only one device connected.

The Wi-Drive is rated for four hours of playback, which was close to what I experienced during testing. Because Wi-Fi streaming can be a power suck, be aware that it will also decrease your device’s battery life; using the two together is not a long-lasting solution. The Wi-Drive charges through its USB port, so it’ll charge and sync at the same time.

There were a couple of other, mostly minor issues, that I encountered when testing the Wi-Drive. When you plug the Wi-Drive into a computer, it stops broadcasting its wireless signal, and my devices would revert back to the Wi-Fi network they were connected to before, forcing me to re-connect manually once the Wi-Drive was unplugged. You can, fortunately, still access the Internet on your device while connected to the Wi-Drive, since it has a Wi-Fi passthrough feature. You’ll see serious speed drops, though. This is definitely a more useful device when there’s no other Wi-Fi connection around, but how often is that the case? The Wi-Drive also got a bit hot while streaming, but not problematically so.

The Wi-Drive is a handy gadget to have if you need more storage, want a backup of important files, or want to stream a movie to all your kids’ devices at once. AT $ 150 or $ 200, though, it’s an expensive add-on, especially when you compare it to traditional external hard drives. For the price you’re better off with a drive like Seagate’s GoFlex Satellite Mobile Wireless Storage ($ 199, 3.5 stars), which packs a lot more storage (500GB), supports more devices, and performs better as a regular external hard drive.

More hard drive reviews:

•   Iomega Intros Mac Companion
•   Seagate Barracuda XT
•   How to Buy an Internal Hard Drive
•   Average Drive Capacity Tops 500 GB as Seagate Reports Profit
•   Ode to Magnetic Media
•  more

ipod touch firmware – Google News

READ MORE - Kingston Wi-Drive - PC Magazine

Cablevision Loses More Video Subs; Adds iPhone, Touch Apps - paidContent.org

Earnings

Like its MSO rivals, Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) saw more subscribers disappear, though it thinks it has a plan to retain the customers don't leave out of economic hardship and more inclined to choose an over-the-top service instead: the expansion of its iPad in-home viewing app to the iPhone and iPod (top 100 apps for ipod touch) touch.

Cablevision's Optimum App for iPhone and iPod (top 100 apps for ipod touch) follows the iPad version that debuted in April and allows viewers access to 300 channels of live TV and thousands of VOD titles. It also comes with DVR management, interactive guide information and search, and serves as an extra remote control. (More details in the release)

See more of our latest Mobile coverage
or add an alert for future coverage of Mobile.

While that's a nice little bonus, given that many cable households already have multiple TV sets in their home, it's hard to say how attractive watching a show in another room on your mobile device really is.

Neverthless, Cablevision's financial performance remained pretty healthy, if below analysts' expectations, despite the drop of 23,000 video customers, which was partly related to the continuing economic weakness in Q2 as well as increasing encroachment on the Long Island MSO's turf from Verizon's FiOS.

Apart from that, for the past few quarters, the Newsday business has been too small and weak for the company to break out results. Instead, the Long Island newspaper's performance is reflected in the "other" category, along with News 12 Networks, MSG Varsity, Clearview Cinemas, Cablevision Media Sales (fka "Rainbow Advertising Sales") and sundry administrative and operating costs.

The company did note that, not surprisingly, revenues were down at Newsday (as they are for most newspaper companies) and that the overall "other segment" was essentially flat (down 0.6 percent) at $ 116.4 million. Revenue growth at News 12, Clearview and Cablevision Media Sales helped to balance out the Newsday declines.

Posted In: Marketing, Media & Publishing, Newspapers, TV, Cable & Telecom, VOD, Mobile, Money, Earnings, Social Media, Video, Companies, Apple, iPad, iPhone, Cablevision

top app ipod – Google News

READ MORE - Cablevision Loses More Video Subs; Adds iPhone, Touch Apps - paidContent.org

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Boxee for iPad app now available - ZDNet (blog)

Summary: Discover and share videos with your Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr friends on your iPad with the Boxee for iPad app — even if you don't have a Boxee box in your living room.

If you primarily use your iPad to watch videos, then you may find the Boxee for iPad app handy — even if you don't have a Boxee box in your living room.

Not only does the app show you what your friends on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr are watching online, you can also discover new finds from the featured videos selected by the Boxee staff, bookmark and create playlists by queuing up videos to watch later, and send videos from your computer to your iPad using Wi-Fi and the Boxee Media Manager, without needing to convert file formats yourself.

Of course, if you have a Boxee box as well as an iPad, you can send your video playlists to your Boxee to enjoy them on your television at home. This download also includes the ability to turn your iPhone/iPod touch/iPad into a remote control for your Boxee via AirPlay. So when your Boxee box is within range of your iOS devices, Boxee will show up as a one of the targeted devices.

The Boxee for iPad app is available for download now. There is a also a firmware update for the Boxee that should be coming within the next couple of days. Hopefully Boxee will work on an app for Android devices next.

[Source: Boxee Blog]

Gloria Sin is a freelance journalist based in New York City.

Biography

Gloria Sin

Gloria Sin is a New York-based freelance journalist who writes about the tech toys that you can’t live without for ZDNet. She has little patience for poorly designed user experiences, and is not afraid of opening the guts of her own machines for repair or hacking her gadgets for new uses.

She has written for FastCompany.com, Popular Science, Olympic News Service; she currently covers the startup scene in the Tri-State area for NYConvergence.com.

Prior to ZDNet, Gloria was the online editor for Dance International, and dabbled in web design and social media consulting. When she is offline, you will find her at an ice rink living out her figure skating dreams. Follow her on Twitter.

ipod touch firmware – Google News

READ MORE - Boxee for iPad app now available - ZDNet (blog)

Boxee for iPad released; Boxee Box gets AirPlay support - SlashGear

Boxee has released Boxee for iPad, allowing users to begin watching content on their Apple tablet then transfer playback to their HTPC Boxee Box midway through, optionally controlling the whole thing from an iPhone-based remote app. The free iPad app [iTunes link] is accompanied by the new Boxee Media Manager, which can be used to stream video to the tablet from your PC or Mac; Boxee Box owners, meanwhile, can stream content in the other direction.

Meanwhile there's Boxee Box 1.2, the latest firmware release, which adds NFS and AFP support, boosted HTML5 handling in the browser, OS X Lion compatibility as a source for video files, and – among other things – experimental AirPlay support. iPhone, iPad and iPod (ipod touch firmware 3.1.3 download) touch users can now stream directly to their Boxee Box using the Apple technology.

There's also a new Boxee "Watch Later" bookmarklet, which allows you to queue up online videos you encounter while browsing so as to later watch them when you're in front of your Boxee Box or iPad. Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr integration is also supported. Full details of the new software here [pdf link].

ipod touch firmware – Google News

READ MORE - Boxee for iPad released; Boxee Box gets AirPlay support - SlashGear

New Google+ App Opens Door to Apple Ecosystem [VIDEO] - International Business Times

Google is building on top of the allure of its new social network, Google+, with the release of an updated app that will work on all Apple devices.

The move follows the release of an iPhone only app last month, which has now been enhanced to work on Apple’s iPad tablets and iPod Touch devices as well.

Google+ has enjoyed a meteoric rise in what analysts are calling the fastest growing website ever. In its first month the invite only service hi 25 million members.

While the rate of growth is unrivaled, the social network is still small in comparison to mature rivals Facebook and Twitter, which have 750 million and 200 million registered users, respectively.

Like us on Facebook

Google+ already works on the company’s own Android platform, giving it access to several millions of mobile handsets around the world. The updated app now gives it access to the Apple eco-system as well.

During Apple’s fiscal third quarter earnings, reported in July, the company said that it sold 7.5 million iPods, with the “Touch” model representing over half of that.

Apple also boosted production of the iPad, selling 9.5 million units in the quarter.

In all the company said it has over 222 million “iOS” devices in the field, giving Google’s new app ample opportunity to capitalize.

top app ipod – Google News

READ MORE - New Google+ App Opens Door to Apple Ecosystem [VIDEO] - International Business Times