Phone Service Feature

Qualcomm Services Labs, a subsidiary of Qualcomm (News - Alert) Inc., and a developer of services and applications that tap into the advantages of mobile technology, launched its Skifta service at the International CES 2011.

The company explained that Skifta is a new way to take all of one’s digital music, videos and photos with them without physically taking them. With Skifta the smartphone becomes a universal remote control that allows users to access music, videos and photos from multiple locations, including the phone itself, and stream them straight to their friend's compatible TV, stereo, PlayStation 3, picture frame on Windows 7 PC. It is a complete mobile service for controlling, playing and enjoying digital media on connected devices at home and on the go, anywhere, anytime.

Recent estimates have indicated that by 2014 there are going to be more than billion DLNA Certified devices in homes across the globe and Skifta, the app-based media shifting service takes advantage of rapid adoption of DLNA-enabled devices, the growing desire for on-demand streaming media, and the increase in smartphone proliferation to deliver an easy-to-use service that allows user remote access to their media files.

"Our media is often unreachable when we want it because it is trapped on our smartphones, computers and online services," said Ed Smith, director of product management at Qualcomm Services Labs, in a press release. "Skifta combines the mobility and WiFi (News - Alert) connectivity of the smartphone to create a personal global remote for music, videos and photos without having to worry about where they are stored. It lets users enjoy their favorite content on connected consumer electronics and in a rich audio and visual environment."

The service is currently available in the Android (News - Alert) Marketplace for smartphones running Android 2.2 or above. Using service is very simple – all users have to do is download the Skifta app to their smartphone and connect to their local WiFi. The app will automatically find media on the phone and on connected devices on their WiFi network.