Qualcomm Announces Skifta Media Shifting Platform
Qualcomm released their Skifta app for Android devices a couple of months ago. The idea behind Skifta was to make accessing and controlling DLNA streaming devices easier for mainstream users. Now that the company has the software side of DLNA under control, Qualcomm is looking to expand Skifta’s reach to the hardware side with its Skifta Media Shifting Platform. Device manufacturers will be able add Qualcomm compnents with embedded Skifta to their devices, automatically adding the content channels that Qualcomm has baked into the Skifta software. The first such component is the Skifta Wireless Audio Adapter for streaming music devices, but there is a video adapter in the works as well. Obviously Qualcomm’s goal is to sell more Qualcomm chips, but if Qualcomm is true to its word and they will allow other silicon manufacturers to tap into Skifta as well, albeit most likely with a whole bunch of licensing cash, then Qualcomm stands a chance of building a widely adopted platform, particularly given its tie-in to the well-established DLNA standard, but they are going to face some stiff competition as other manufacturers try to extend their own streaming media platforms.
According to Qualcomm, device makers incorporating the Qualcomm Atheros communication modules with embedded Skifta software can offer consumers a more fully-formed vision of the DLNA / UPnP standards, including remote access from anywhere in the world and direct content acquisition from providers like Spotify, Pandora, and Rhapsody. In this way, Qualcomm’s aim is similar to Samsung’s enhanced Allshare implementation of DLNA but with the goal of making its Skifta embed a cross-platform solution.