Roku updates Android app, brings new music and photo streaming capabilities
Today Roku is rolling out an update to its popular Android companion app, which brings along several fresh enhancements and features. One of the most notable changes, however, is the new “Play on Roku” feature. With it, you can stream photos and music from your smartphone directly to any Roku player over your home’s Wi-Fi network.
“Photos streamed on TV using Play on Roku can be viewed individually using a swiping gesture on the mobile device, or in automatic slide show mode. When music is streamed using Play on Roku, a screen saver with the song title, artist, album name and cover art will appear on the TV while the song plays. Photo slide shows can also be viewed with music streaming at the same time. Play on Roku is compatible with MP3 and M4A audio files and JPG and PNG image files.”
The app will be available to download in the same countries that Rokus are sold, meaning nearly all users should be able to take advantage of the feature. There’s no word on whether or not the service will be expanded to support videos or third party applications in the future, but in the meantime be sure to check out the official application in the Google Play Store. Catch the full presser after the break.
Roku Announces Mobile App Updates; Introduces Play on Roku
‘Play on Roku’ Lets Customers Stream Photos and Music from iOS or Android Mobile Devices to Roku Streaming Players
SARATOGA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Many Roku® customers take photos and download music on smartphones or tablets for easy access anytime, and anywhere. For these customers, Roku today announced updates to the Roku mobile app that include Play on Roku, a feature that allows customers to stream photos and music from a mobile device wirelessly to a Roku streaming player. The Roku mobile app – which essentially turns a smartphone or tablet into a Roku remote control – is now also available in all countries where Roku players are sold, including the U.K., Canada and Ireland.
“For most people, mobile devices are an extension of their lifestyle – they use their smartphones and tablets for almost everything, including capturing photos and curating music”
Photos streamed on TV using Play on Roku can be viewed individually using a swiping gesture on the mobile device, or in automatic slide show mode. When music is streamed using Play on Roku, a screen saver with the song title, artist, album name and cover art will appear on the TV while the song plays. Photo slide shows can also be viewed with music streaming at the same time. Play on Roku is compatible with MP3 and M4A audio files and JPG and PNG image files.
“For most people, mobile devices are an extension of their lifestyle – they use their smartphones and tablets for almost everything, including capturing photos and curating music,” said Jim Funk, senior vice president of product management at Roku. “With this in mind, we wanted to provide a mobile experience that gave customers different ways to enjoy their photos and music, while getting even more value out of their Roku players.”
With the Roku mobile app, customers can control their Roku player without using the included IR remote. Additionally, customers can:
- Assign names to Roku players
- Instantly replay favorite movie moments
- Quickly add and remove channels
- Control and switch between multiple Roku players
- Enter text easily with the included keyboard feature
Available for iOS and Android mobile devices, the Roku mobile app can be downloaded for free from the iTunes App Store or Google Play. Play on Roku works with all Roku 2, Roku LT and Roku HD (model 2500R) players today and will work with the Roku Streaming Stick, expected to ship in October.
About Roku Inc.
Roku is the leading dedicated streaming platform for delivering video, music and casual games to the TV. Roku launched the first player to stream Netflix to the TV in 2008, and today the Roku platform streams more than 600 channels to millions of devices in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and the Republic of Ireland. Roku was founded by Anthony Wood, inventor of the DVR. The company is headquartered in Saratoga, Calif. For more information, visit www.roku.com.
Roku and Roku Ready are registered trademarks and the Roku Streaming Stick is a trademark of Roku, Inc. in the United States and other countries, and all other trade names and logos used herein are registered trademarks or are trademarks of their respective owners.
Google Search App Gets Updated To Include Even More Functionality For Google Now
A major update has just launched for us Jelly Bean users who use Google’s Search app, which helps users to keep track of our important information better than ever. The Search app has been updated to version 2.0.5.443668 and brings impressive features to Google Now such as:
- Movies – see movie showtimes and more
- Public alerts – receive emergency messages such as storm warnings and earthquake alerts
- The ability to add favorite sports teams from over 140 soccer, football (finally!!!!), hockey and baseball teams to follow in real time, right from Settings
- Support for Korea
The ability to add your favorite sports teams is probably the biggest feature yet— especially for the football fanatics out there. In case you’re wondering, app is available in the Play Store today for all Jelly Bean users, so be sure to grab the latest version of the app when possible so you can you know, stay on top of those showtimes or important games/matches.
Audiobooks.com App For Android Lets You Listen To Unlimited Books On Your Smartphone, Gives You Another Reason To “Read” The Hunger Games
Audiobooks are loved by many— especially those of us who happen to have long commutes to and from work or school. While audiobooks aim to make things just a little easier for individuals on the go, the more traditional forms of audiobooks can be very expensive with an average price of $20 – $30 for each one. Fortunately, relief is at hand as the up and coming audiobook service Audiobooks.com has unveiled its new Android app which provides a unique interface for navigating the book library and controlling playback, while also giving users the ability to download up to two books at a time to listen offline– which may be helpful especially to those of you on those tightened data plans. Among the 15,000 available titles include The Hunger Games and Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs bio.
For those of you who are interested— the Audiobooks.com subscription will run you about $25 per month but again— you get unlimited access to its entire library of titles. So if you’re a Froyo 2.2+ user and have a hankering for some good books to
read listen to, be sure to grab the app today in the Play Store or by scanning the QR code below.
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