Libratone Embraces Android And Windows With DLNA Streaming Update

Libratone, maker of felt-covered wireless speakers, has abandoned its obsession with Apple, updating three of its most recent models to support Android and Windows thanks to freshly-added DLNA support. The Libratone Zipp, Live, and Lounge models will all gain DLNA streaming capabilities, piping music from your smartphone, tablet, or Windows PC over your WiFi network. Meanwhile, there's an update to the Libratone iOS app too.

For Apple device users, the new iOS functionality means that the Libratone Zipp's PlayDirect technology – the device-to-device streaming we tested in our Zipp review - now works with the Live and Lounge speakers launched back in 2011. Enabled through a new app for iPhone and iPad, the new support means iOS devices can funnel music directly to the older speakers rather than requiring a WiFi network.

A Libratone Android app is also in the pipeline, expected to hit the Play store sometime in February. Libratone isn't saying exactly what it will do, but we'd expect the same sort of functionality as iOS users get, such as tweaking equalizer settings along with the virtual surround sound features.

Finally, there's some price trimming for Live and Lounge units, with the former down to £449.95 and the latter down to £1,099; new US pricing is yet to be confirmed. You can download the updated Libratone app for iOS here [iTunes link].