TechnoStruct

XBMC, the popular open source media player and streaming service, is finally available for Android as part of the latest update to the platform. After an announcement earlier this year, XBMC 12 (FRODO) Beta 2 launched last night giving Android users access to the service for the first time (we won’t count the XBMC Remote app, useful though it may be).

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It is important to note that you will need a fairly new (and powerful) Android smartphone to run the app. If your device isn’t supported you will receive a warning message when trying to launch the app. Sadly, the changes to Android 4.2 make this version of XBMC incompatible with the latest Nexus devices or any device running a build of the latest version of Jelly Bean.
A fix is promised as part of Beta 3.

The update to XBMC includes other goodies, such as support for Xbox 360 controllers, audio tweaks, and other various bug fixes.

To run this beta, you will need a fairly modern Android phone, tablet, or other device. We have determined that any Android device that doesn’t include the NEON extension is simply going to run too slowly to be useable. If you are uncertain whether your device is supported, feel free to visit the XBMC for Android compatibility list.

Alternatively, you can simply install the XBMC for Android apk. If your device is not supported, XBMC will post a warning when you try to launch the app and exit out. If it is, and it isn’t included on the compatibility list, feel free to add it.

One Android issue worth mentioning: at present XBMC is likely to load fairly slowly on the first run as it unpacks itself. This is expected behavior. After first run, it should load quite a bit

Without a doubt, one of the most popular controllers for PC at present is the Xbox 360 Controller. It is invariably the most supported controller for all AAA title Windows games (along with numerous games being ported for Steam for Linux), so it was undoubtedly time for the controller to become fully plug and play compatible with XBMC. Thanks to the work of Shiretoko212, rowan.border, and all those who contributed in this thread, the previously outdated 360 keymap has been updated and dramatically improved so that now almost any 360 controller, regardless of version, should be immediately recognized by XBMC assuming a driver is in place. For those interested in using their 360 controller to control XBMC, check out this 360 button map to show what all the buttons do in XBMC.

Easily the number one reported issue with Beta1 was a lack of sound in Windows. This issue was relatively simply resolved by switching from WASAPI to DirectSound as the default output. Users who prefer WASAPI can still easily switch back in System->Audio Output.

Needless to say, there were numerous other fixes, including fixes to nodes and smartplaylists, the volume range of Airtunes in Windows, a speedup of EPG data importing, solving a minor files issue, and others. To see all the changes, feel free to refer to the Beta2 Git Changelog. Additionally, there are several other issues still being worked on, and more will likely crop up during Beta testing. If you would like to report an issue, please search for the issue in our forums first and report any verified bugs in Trac.

Download:XBMC