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DoubleTwist and Qualcomm to bring AirPlay-like streaming to Android

DoubleTwist, maker of the popular eponymous music player software, has teamed up with chip maker Qualcomm in an attempt to make wireless streaming easier for Android users. The fruit of their collaboration is dubbed MagicPlay, a new open-source wireless streaming platform that the two companies hope OEMs will integrate into present and future devices.

Built atop Qualcomm's already existing AllJoyn platform, DoubleTwist's MagicPlay can stream to wireless speakers, headphones, televisions, and other devices. Since MagicPlay is open-source, any number of devices or apps could potentially integrate its code and stream to hardware that has a Qualcomm chip and … Read more

Vudu's in-home Disc to Digital service: Promising yet lacking

It sounds ideal. Take all those DVDs and Blu-rays you own and, from the comfort of your own home, effortlessly gain digital copies for a low price. That's the promise of Vudu's new "In-Home Disc to Digital" service. Vudu delivers on that promise in some cases but disappoints in other ways.

Last year, Walmart-owned Vudu launched its Disc to Digital service that required people to go into Walmart stores for the conversion. Who wants to do that? This is where the "In-Home" version of Disc to Digital comes … Read more

How Microsoft can avoid the pitfalls of Sony's PS4 announcement

Editor's note: It's official. Microsoft has announced the future of Xbox (and the next console) will be revealed at an event in Redmond, Washington on May 21.

CNET's live coverage of Microsoft's event Tuesday, May 21

Press events are a tricky beast. No one ever said they were easy to pull off. But with Sony casting the first stone in the next-generation console gaming war, Microsoft can learn a lot from what worked and what didn't.

When the lights went up, Sony execs were shaking hands and congratulating each other. But the packed house at … Read more

Most anticipated games of 2013

Gamers have a lot to be excited about this year. The Sony PlayStation 4 just became official, and the announcement for the next-generation Microsoft Xbox can't be far behind.

But consoles alone aren't that interesting. What 2013 really needs are some great games.

A few weeks back, CNET's Senior Associate Games Editor Jeff Bakalar presented 25 of the most anticipated games of the year. To up the ante, I asked him to pick his favorite five from the list and rank them by degrees of anticipation.

So here you go. In this week's Top 5 I'… Read more

Friday Poll: Do you want a PlayStation 4?

At long last, the PlayStation 4 is arriving Sort of. It's been announced, but the announcement left fans with a lot of questions, like "How much will it cost?" and "What on earth does it actually look like?"

As sketchy as the details are, you can already hear the sound of gamers saving up bucks to buy the new machine when it comes out, supposedly later this year. We're also hearing some concerns resulting from unanswered questions and the news that the new console won't be natively compatible with all those PlayStation 3 games you already sunk a ton of money into.… Read more

Low Latency No. 52: The waiting game

Low Latency is a weekly comic on CNET's Crave blog written by CNET editor and podcast host Jeff Bakalar and illustrated by Blake Stevenson. Be sure to check Crave every Friday at 8 a.m. PT for new panels! Want more? Here's every Low Latency comic so far.… Read more

Jimmy Fallon goes hands-on with PS4 -- with console out of sight

Jimmy Fallon was the first person since Sony's PlayStation event earlier this week to publicly take one of the console's games for a spin.

Sony last night brought the PlayStation 4 to "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," allowing the host to briefly play Killzone: Shadow Fall. His time on the new PlayStation 4 controller -- which was detailed ad nauseam -- was short-lived. One of Fallon's guests also had the chance to play Killzone, but that, too, was a quick experience.

Interestingly, the person from the Killzone team who was playing the title had no … Read more

PS4 and the Vita: The multiscreen dream...again

The PlayStation 4 is Sony's last great hope in keeping control of the gaming industry. It's also the best chance at turning the PlayStation Vita into a more relevant piece of gaming hardware.

At last night's PlayStation 4 event in New York, many hew tidbits of hardware magic were discussed, and a good handful of them involved the Vita: as a remote-play device and additional controller like the Wii U's GamePad, and maybe even as a functional second screen. It's encouraging, but not surprising. I bet it would happen long before last night's event … Read more

Questions remain after PS4 event

Thursday's CNET Update will beat the game for you:

The PlayStation 4 dominates today's tech roundup. Sony hinted at what the new system will be able to do, but held back from actually showing what the console looks like. (It's just a hunch, but I'd say it's a black box.) Also, Google releases its first touch-screen Chromebook, but the price is also a touchy matter.

Sony PS4 event skewered in animated parody

Taiwanese animator Next Media Animation is taking yesterday's Sony PlayStation 4 event to task.

Sony announced its next-generation video game console at a press event in New York, but the PS4 itself was a no-show.

Sony says the PS4 features a PC-like body architecture, x86 CPU, enhanced PS GPU, 8GB of unified memory, a local storage hard drive, and an updated DualShock 4 controller.

The animation group created a video mocking the PS4 at yesterday's press event. Sony treated members of the press to experience what using the next-generation console might feel like with live demonstrations, but did … Read more