Apple's Lightning Digital AV Adapter is a Full-Fledged Computer

Panic, the developers behind apps like Coda and Transmit, spent some timedisassembling the Lightning Digital AV cable that allows iOS devices like the iPad mini and the iPhone 5 to output HDMI to televisions.

The company discovered that, like its Lightning to 30-pin brethren, the Digital AV adapter is considerably more complicated than it would appear. Among other discoveries, Panic found an ARM chip and 256MB of RAM inside.

There are a lot of questions. What OS does it boot? @jmreid thinks the adapter copies over a “mini iOS” (!) from the device and boots it in a few seconds every time it’s connected, which would explain the fairly lengthy startup time for video out. Why do this crazy thing at all? All we can figure is that the small number of Lightning pins prevented them from doing raw HDMI period, and the elegance of the adapter trumped the need for traditional video out, so someone had to think seriously out of the box. Or maybe they want get as much functionality out of the iPad as possible to reduce cost and complexity.

Panic conjectures that for some reason the Lightning port isn't capable of outputting raw HDMI -- something that should give an extremely high quality image -- and instead uses a form of AirPlay to output video, delivering a lower quality video signal.

[Source: MacRumors]

Logitech intros two Mac accessories: the Easy-Switch Keyboard and an external trackpad

After unveiling a handful of accessories designed for Windows 8, it's clear Logitech had some catching up to do on the Mac side. The company just announced two things, the Bluetooth Easy-Switch Keyboard and the Rechargeable Trackpad for Mac, and they're both more or less Apple-friendly versions of items that were announced for Windows back in October. Starting with the keyboard, it's basically the same as the Illuminated Bluetooth K810 keyboard, in that you can pair it with up to three Bluetooth-enabled devices and switch from one to the other by pressing a button. As the name suggests, it's also backlit, with sensors that turn on the lights when your hands are hovering, and lower the brightness when backlighting isn't necessary. The truth is, the K810 does all of this too and can pair with devices running any OS; it just has Windows 8-specific hotkeys, which you wouldn't need if you were a Mac user.

[Source: Engadget]

RIM teases upcoming BB 10 hardware ahead of January reveal

Lest you forget there's another mobile player hedging its bets on a big comeback, RIM's released a tiny teaser of its upcoming BB 10 handset via its site. The image, which appears alongside a tag promising a "Re-designed. Re-engineered. Re-invented." experience, is part of a registration campaign for news updates on theunreleased platform. There's really not much to glimpse from the enshrouded peek Waterloo's offering up, but with the abundance of leaks that've sprung up over the past few months, we have a pretty decent idea what that hardware mightlook like. The big BB 10 reveal's set for January 30th -- a little more than one month away -- so you won't have to wait much longer to witness the full monty.

[Source: Engadget]

Roku lands $45M in funding, plans hardware, media expansion

Roku, the maker of a popular player for streaming Web content to TV sets, has closed a new round of funding.

The company has landed a $45 million investment from companies including News Corp. and British Sky Broadcasting, it announced today.

Also participating in the round were prior Roku venture investors Menlo Ventures and Globespan Capital Partners, as well as an unnamed strategic investor. In addition to the cash injection, News Corp's chief digital officer, Jon Miller, has joined the Roku board of directors, while Roku CEO Anthony Wood remains chairman.

"Our philosophy is to give consumers the best streaming TV experience, with the most content and at the best value in the market; and it has served us well as millions of consumers have brought Roku into their homes," said Wood. "With the News Corporation and Sky strategic relationships, we are poised to further grow our leadership position and to become the TV distribution platform of the future."

Roku will use the funding to promote brand awareness, launch new advertising campaigns and enter new markets. It also plans to increase engineering and production to support the growth of both its hardware and the digital media services available on the Roku platform, including advertising, games, transactional and pay-per-view video, and content.

The company is set to release the Roku Streaming Stick this fall. The wireless, dongle-sized steaming device will be compatible with the latest television sets and consumer electronics, according to Roku, and will be the first step in breaking away from simply producing steaming players, and into connecting its platform to smart TVs and related hardware.

[Source: cnet]