AllPlay Adds Bluetooth-to-Wi-Fi Streaming to Platform; Hitachi Bows Trio of AllPlay Speakers

Qualcomm’s Connected Experiences subsidiary added Bluetooth-to-Wi-Fi streaming to its AllPlay smart media platform, along with custom audio settings and optimized synchronization, it said Thursday. In addition, Hitachi America signed on to AllPlay and for three Wi-Fi speakers, joining Monster, which launched its SoundStage line of AllPlay speakers at Best Buy last month. Combining Bluetooth and Wi-Fi streaming enables all local or cloud-based music on a smartphone to be streamed to any Bluetooth-compatible AllPlay speaker and then re-streamed over Wi-Fi to multiple AllPlay speakers -- all in sync, said Qualcomm. The technology allows wireless connectivity to individual speakers or an entire home audio system over an existing Wi-Fi network, an advantage over Bluetooth-only speakers that can only perform one-to-one streaming, said Qualcomm. The Hitachi speakers are due “at a U.S. retailer” later this month at "affordable," but undisclosed, prices, it said. Sy Choudhury, senior director-product management-Qualcomm Connected Experiences, called the coupling of Wi-Fi with Bluetooth “a game-changing combination” bringing together the range of Wi-Fi and the ubiquity of Bluetooth. With the new feature, AllPlay device makers “can now offer their customers more connectivity options and access to myriad streaming services throughout their home,” he said. The addition of custom audio settings allows manufacturers additional ways to differentiate products and give their customers more control over playback through EQ settings and channel selection capabilities, said Qualcomm. Optimized synchronization of less than 100 microseconds between devices makes the platform suitable for multiroom and multichannel wireless audio streaming, it said. Manufacturers can now build devices powered by AllPlay that take in audio from line-in sources, such as CD players or turntables, with the ability to re-stream to other AllPlay speakers around the home, it said. ASUSTeK, Magnat and Vestel also have announced plans to introduce AllPlay products.