DoubleTwist, an iTunes alternative for the Android ecosystem, has teamed up with chipmaker Qualcomm on the release of “MagicPlay,” which the two companies are describing as an open source media streaming platform meant to challenge Apple’s AirPlay. The technology is built on Qualcomm’s AllJoyn protocol, a mesh networking platform that has been in development for several years, but which has yet to achieve serious OEM or consumer adoption.

AllJoyn, for those unfamiliar, works with specific Qualcomm chipsets to enable proximity-based, peer-to-peer networks. The company has previously stated that AllJoyn is not meant to replace either WiFi Direct or Bluetooth, but rather live alongside those technologies as a way to make it easier for devices to talk to each other. So yes, it’s an idea that falls into the “Internet of Things” space, which envisions a world where all our devices can share data between each other. Some potential use cases for AllJoyn include mobile games which could immediately switch into multiplayer mode when near other gamers, or photo or file sharing without using NFC or Bluetooth. Qualcomm also recently invested in a contextual personal search/assistant app called Friday, which plans to integrate the technology in future builds.

But while a network of smart devices communicating with each other is representative of Qualcomm’s larger vision, the company still needs an angle into real-world adoption first. On that note, it has partnered with doubleTwist on MagicPlay, an open source protocol that will allow any Android device, smartphone or tablet, to wirelessly stream media to any device with a Qualcomm chip running the AllJoyn protocol.

The platform will allow smartphones and tablets to connect with speakers, including those both in the home and in the car. It can also enable connecting devices via Wi-Fi as an alternative to Bluetooth – a fact that goes against Qualcomm’s earlier positioning as to where this protocol fits in in comparison with similar technologies. In this case, it’s not “complementing” Bluetooth, for example, it could replace it – at least in this particular use case. App developers can also add MagicPlay to their mobile apps, allowing them to stream content to speakers, TVs, cars and more.

Well…they could if it Qualcomm can get consumer electronics makers to commit to integrating the technology in their products as well. Notably absent in the two companies’ announcements today was any sort of mention of which OEMs are planning to support AllJoyn more directly – something that’s a necessary part to any sort of grand scheme to launch any AirPlay “killer,” so to speak. Being an open source technology, of course, is a good first step, but it still needs to be ubiquitous to really take off. Apple’s AirPlay is easy because you know if you have only Apple devices in the mix, it will work. But look at something like NFC, which has been baked into various Android devices (and those from others) over the years – because it’s not everywhere, it hasn’t become a daily habit, or a standard way that consumers think to share files or photos (e.g. with Android’s SmartBeam) or make payments at point-of-sale.

Another obstacle for Qualcomm’s AllJoyn is that it competes with a standards-driven AirPlay alternative known as Mircast, which builds upon Intel’s earlier efforts with WiFi Direct. Samsung’s Mircast-based “AllShare Cast” platform is already built into the Galaxy S II, Note 10.1, Note II and others. Other CE and chip companies supporting the platform include LG, Marvell, Nvidia and Sony.

DoubleTwist’s MagicPlay integration will be available this spring, and the MagicPlay source code will become available in Q3 2013.

Article courtesy of TechCrunch

Today, the Android media player doubleTwist reached a big milestone: 1 million active users between its mobile and desktop apps.

We’ve been following the media player closely for over a year now, watching to see if it would find enough adoption to make it the premiere Android alternative to iTunes.

Back in November, the company launched its wireless syncing software called “AirSync” that automatically syncs your music, movies, and photos whenever you’re in wireless range — and offers us a glimpse into the future of mobile tech. Add AirSync to doubleTwist’s already slick interface, the ability to import iTunes playlists, and support for audio/video podcasts, and you can see why the player has quickly become one of the most popular on the Android market. And now that the company has reached the 1 million user milestone, it’s clear that they’re more than just “on their way.”

In light of their impressive recent growth (300% active user growth in the 4Q 2010), doubleTwist announced it will also be both reshuffling current management as well as adding new members to their team. Co-founder and CTO Jon Lech Johansen will be taking over the role of CEO from Monique Farantzos, and Farantzos will become President and Chairman.

In addition, Farantzos told us that the company will be adding Blake Krikorian (the former CEO of Sling), who will be joining the board of directors; Stuart Collingwood, former Head of European Operations for Sling, will be the Head of European & International Operations, and Lucas Dickey (formerly Product Manager at Amazon for Amazon MP3) will become Product Manager for the doubleTwist mobile, desktop and cloud applications.

To round out doubleTwist’s bevy of announcements, the company is launching “AirTwist”, a free update to AirSync, which will allow users to stream their movies, photos, and music directly to their TV using an Xbox or a PS3. Plus, it will wirelessly sync data with your desktop. Look out, iTunes.

Article courtesy of TechCrunch

Earlier today, Winamp released a new version of its Android application that allowed users to sync their music wirelessly with their Windows desktop (disclosure: Winamp and TechCrunch are both owned by AOL). It’s a great feature, but in the race to become the ‘iTunes of Android’, another contender may already be about to lap Winamp.

We’ve been tracking DoubleTwist and its close affiliation with Android for over a year now. The company offers a desktop media player that looks a lot like iTunes (which is no accident given the ‘iTunes for Android’ theme), and it’s added support for the Android App Store, a music store through Amazon MP3′s API, and a directory of Podcasts. Today it’s launching what’s probably its coolest feature yet: wireless sync, which they’re appropriately dubbing ‘AirSync’. And it’s not just for music — DoubleTwist will let you wirelessly sync your movies, music, and photos.

Given how powerful the feature is, setup is relatively painless. Install the latest DoubleTwist client for your Mac or PC, then download the new version of the Android app. Set your phone to connect to the same Wifi network as your computer, fire up the Android app, and hit the new ‘AirSync’ button. The desktop app will detect your phone, ask you to key in a passcode (this is similar to the Bluetooth pairing process), and from there you can configure the application to sync music, photos and video (photo sync is only available on Windows for now, but is coming soon for the Mac version).

All in all, the process takes around three minutes, though the sync itself will take significantly longer — possibly hours —depending on your Wifi speed. There is one caveat though: DoubleTwist’s Android application has historically been free; that’s still true for the basic functionality, but you’ll have to upgrade to a paid version if you want AirSync — it’s a 99 cent upgrade for the first 10,000 users, and then will jump to $4.99 for everyone else.

The coolest part about AirSync is that after the initial setup, everything should work automatically. Whenever you walk within range of your wireless network, DoubleTwist (the desktop client) will detect any new content on your phone and sync it back to the computer; you can also sync new content from your computer back to your device. This means that you can go out and shoot some videos on your phone, and, provided you don’t walk immediately to your computer after getting home, they should already be waiting for you when you sit down at your desk (Ok, this also assumes you leave your computer on).

It’s quite impressive. Unfortunately there appear to be some issues — my phone got very sluggish during one sync — but I suspect DoubleTwist will iron most of these out over the next few weeks.

In a word, this is the future. Whether DoubleTwist or Winamp or an official solution from Google becomes the standard, a world without annoying tethering is clearly the way things are headed. DoubleTwist is the first that offers such deep integration, and it’s definitely worth checking out.

Given the timing of the launch (which was originally slated for yesterday but was pushed til today to QA test a new version), I reached out to DoubleTwist to see what they thought of Winamp’s release. Aside from pointing out some feature differences (Winamp doesn’t support Macs and is for music only at this point), they also had this to say — they’re not exactly mincing words:

In general, we do not consider Winamp a competitor as they are geared towards a specific subcategory of users who don’t mind endless menus, preferences and options. We are more focused on the mass market, average user who just wants to make the most out of their device without being overwhelmed by technology.

Article courtesy of TechCrunch

doubleTwist, the ‘iTunes for Android’ software that lets you sync your media files with dozens of devices, including Android phones, is one step closer to being a full-fledged solution for media sync on Android. The company has released a native Android application, available on Android Market for free, which offers users a polished media player capable of playing both audio and video.

Android is notorious for coming with a clunky default media player, and doubleTwist easily bests it, sporting a much cleaner interface, the ability to import iTunes playlists, and support for audio/video podcasts. That said, there are already plenty of third party solutions that also beat the stock Android player. So what makes doubleTwist different?

CEO Monique Farantzos says that the new doubleTwist Android player works directly with doubleTwist’s desktop software, in much the same way that the iPod and iTunes work together. Users can transfer ratings, playcounts, and other information back and forth between their phone and computer. Farantzos also says that online radio and support for wireless media sync (which would be big) are coming in the near future.

It’s worth pointing out that Android will soon allow users to stream their music from their PCs without having to physically connect their devices, but I suspect there will still be plenty of people looking to store and manage their media locally.

Article courtesy of TechCrunch