Hillcrest Labs Enhances Kylo Web Browser for TV
Hillcrest Labs has unveiled the latest version of its Kylo browser, the free Web browser for TV, which the company introduced earlier this year. Developed for the millions of households that connect their PCs or Macs to the TV, Kylo lets users visit sites across the Web with a browser that was specifically designed to be viewed from a distance in the family room, living room, or dorm room.
The latest version of the Kylo browser (Kylo Beta 0.7) includes a variety of new product features that enable users to launch Kylo from a plug-in created for Windows Media Center; hide Kylo’s control bar and keyboard; configure Kylo’s settings in order to access Web site pages designed for other hardware platforms; enjoy enhanced zooming; and print from their TV.
The Kylo browser is not meant to replace traditional browsers such as Internet Explorer, Safari, or Firefox for use with standard computer display screens, but instead is for use on TVs connected to a computer. Unlike other applications or Websites, Kylo is not a "walled garden" of aggregated video content, but rather a true Web browser that lets users go where they want across the Internet.
New Features of the Kylo Browser Beta 0.7 include:
- ??Auto-hide control bar – Users can now select an auto-hide feature for the Kylo control bar. For video sites that do not offer full screen mode, this gives users the maximum viewing space possible. The Kylo control bar reappears when the cursor is directed at the bottom of the screen with a mouse or Loop pointer.
- ??Domain-specific user agent string setting – Advanced users can now change the user agent string used by Kylo using the application’s new settings. This feature, used in other conventional browsers, can improve compatibility with some Websites like Hulu, and can enable Kylo users to view sites that are designed for other platforms like the Apple iPad, Nintendo Wii or Sony PlayStation.
- ??Better zoom indication – The new Kylo makes it easier to discover and use Kylo’s zoom capabilities for reading Web pages at a distance across the living room.
- ??Default zoom level setting – This new setting allows the user to set a minimum zoom setting for all Web pages, which is particularly useful for users with 1080 HD resolution settings.
- ??Enable/disable auto keyboard – In its default setting, Kylo automatically presents its on-screen keyboard to enter text on Websites as appropriate. With the new version of Kylo, users who typically have a keyboard handy can select this setting to keep the on-screen keyboard hidden.?