The CyanogenMod team has released an update to its GalleryNext beta application that allows support for streaming of pictures to a Roku or Chromecast device. While the application received feedback from the community, the development of the software was on hold since late January. After nearly two months, the project finally received an update.
The application updates are as follows:
- Better scrolling and load times
- Delete and Undo support for local and cloud
- Chromecast and Roku support
- Better integration with image editors
- DeepZoom support
- Provider bug fixes (Dropbox, Google+, Facebook)
- New animations for image loading and previews
- UI and UX updates
One of the more interesting parts of the update is the support for Roku and Chromecast. This will allow GalleryNext users to push their photos from their device or supported cloud provider (Dropbox, Google+, and Facebook) to a TV connected to either a Chromecast or Roku. I tested this with a Nexus 5 on a Roku and it worked fairly well for the most part. The interface is smooth and the refresh rate from the device to the TV is adequate. I did have issues with the application crashing a couple times and the thumbnails did take a little bit of time to populate in the gallery. But, overall GalleryNext is not a bad product for a beta experience.
While this is a project well worth watching out for, I think Google"s newly released Photowall experiment is a little more interesting because it brings a communal approach and experience to photo sharing on a big screen.
Source: CyanogenMod Blog | Image via CyanogenMod