Comcast discontinues AnyPlay in-home IPTV device, preps cloud Xfinity TV apps

Back in 2012 Comcast rolled out AnyPlay, a headless (read: not connected directly to a TV) cable box that turned its live TV channels into internet streams users could watch on iOS or Android devices inside the home. Now in 2014 Comcast is discontinuing the AnyPlay service and nudging customers towards other options like Xfinity TV Go and other new features it will roll out later this year. Like a Slingbox that only worked within the house, compared to other cable TV apps AnyPlay had the advantage of directly supporting all the channels, but the downside of requiring additional hardware. It also looks like the leased Motorola Televation boxes that did the TV-to-IPTV magic will be going back soon, as the mobile apps will disappear from stores after March 31st.

So what's in store for the future? Last week at an investors conference, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts showed off a new Xfinity TV app that brings full live TV, video on-demand and DVR access on phones and tablets. We showed you the app last year, which Roberts revealed is being tested in Boston this month and is scheduled to roll out across much of the country this year. It's all part of the new X1 / X2 TV platform which brings more apps to the TV and "turns mobile devices into virtual TV sets" -- hopefully without blanking them out nationwide. Multichannel News adds that Comcast is also testing out gateway devices from Arris that, like AnyPlay, don't connect to directly to a TV, but will push video throughout the home to TVs and mobile devices alike. Comcast also mentioned that at the end of last year, it added to its total number of TV customers for the first time in over six years. We'll see if these new features -- along with cheap internet combo packages -- can pull in more customers, or if people choose life with another provider, or no traditional TV service at all.

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Source: Comcast Support Forums

Multichannel News Tags: anyplay, cloud, comcast, hdpostcross, motorola, televation, x1, x2, XfinityTv, xfinitytvgo Next: Google is mapping the history of modern music .fyre .fyre-comment-divider

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Corning preps 3D Gorilla Glass for gadgets

(Credit:Corning)

Corning says it's time to take its chemically strengthened Gorilla Glass outside of the box.

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On Friday, the glass maker announced that it's taking its best commercial success 3D, with a manufacturing process and plan that will make it easier for the company to produce the tougher topper in shapes other than the flat panel that covers a tremendous number of top phones and tablets.

Specifically, by shaping glass at high temperatures over 500 degrees Centigrade, much like you would in glass blowing, Corning says it can create more complex shapes than we're seeing on gadgets today.

Contoured smartphones and wearable or connected devices of all sorts are the most obvious application for 3D Gorilla Glass, though Corning isn't the only glass maker in the business, and glass certainly isn't the only material of choice for every device.

Tags: Gorilla Glass, Corning

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As Google slowly preps the Chromecast ecosystem, waves of new apps are on the way

HBO Go, Songza and Pandora are about to get more company on Chromecast, according to a Gigaom interview with Google's VP of product management Mario Queiroz where he stated additional waves of apps are coming soon. A public release for the Chromecast SDK -- which should allow developers to build and release their own apps at will -- won't happen until next year, but this week the team gave over 40 developers access to a preview version just to get their feedback. To ensure its elegantly simple user experience remains intact across all applications, the company also recently released a 14-page design guide that details the basic expectations for the development community. An impending international release next year is also encouraging publishers to make compatible apps -- moves that should benefit everyone, regardless of where they call home. Quieroz's "broader" goal is to establish Cast tech as a standard embedded into other hardware, but until that happens there's still time to gift-wrap a few of Google's HDMI dongles and look like a hero all year as their capabilities continue to expand.

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Via: Android Police

Source: Google Developers, Gigaom

Tags: android, apps, Chromecast, google, hd, hdpostcross, IOS, MarioQueiroz, mobilepostcross, sdk Next: New BMW M4, Ford Mustang get their first drive in Gran Turismo and Need for Speed
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