IOGEAR GWAVR Sends Mobile, Tablet + PC Wirelessly to HDTV: Hands On

Well we took a look at the IOGEAR GWAVR slingbox, and this little unit is full of upside (especially for the price) and downside (if you’re not up on your Intel and Samsung products).

I will proceed to tell it like it is.

For less than ninety bucks retail, the IOGEAR GWAVR Wireless Mobile and PC to HDTV device gives consumers an inexpensive option to transfer images, videos, and online content to a high definition television or an HDTV-ready monitor.

My cable company (Cablevision) allows me to view live TV on the iPhone, for instance, but it will not let me watch the Stanley Cup-bound New York Rangers on my Mac at home (without a cable box attached to my monitor that is).

Tablets and smartphones are good to broadcast, but not computers.

To which I reply, “That sucks!” as I type the night away and watch games on my iPhone 5’s miniature display.

Cue the GWAVR gadget.

IOGEAR provides free apps for desktops, phones, and tablets with Miracast* for Samsung fans and iMediashare for everyone else.

Here is the bottom line: Miracast capable devices get the screen share capability that we all want to show anything on our devices on a bigger screen HDTV; if you do not fall into the Miracast family (see the * below), like me, then you’re shit out of luck.

• Miracast™/ AllShare Cast devices: – Samsung has introduced AllShare Cast (based on Miracast™), which is incorporated into most of Samsung’s high-end smart mobile devices including the GALAXY S III / 4, GALAXY Note 10.1, and GALAXY Note II / III
  – New LG Optimus G

Samsung owners will love this affordable IOGEAR unit!

Also on the upside, if you pay close attention to the many specifications and requirements for the GWAVR and you have an Intel based monitor or computer from the last year, you’ll download one of the apps and everything will seamlessly connect. Good! Use this to your advantage, folks.

I will say that physical connection could not be easier:  the little box is light and has a plug and connects via HDMI to the HDTV to be used. That’s it for hookup requirements.

I, of course tested without the Intel or Samsung, and found that though the Apps are in the App Stores, the damn device did not want to connect to my iPhone for twenty minutes. After meticulously resetting for the seventh time, I connected and was able to access a Roku-like menu of options.

With an iPhone, or iPad, you can easily view your pictures and videos or YouTube and Facebook content (and some other less fun apps) on a bigger screen wirelessly.

So that works.

Did it hook up instantaneously and recognize your screen? No.

But once online, the GWAVR broadcasts in full HD your content onto an HDTV, though it does NOT provide a screenshare Slingbox-like function (as advertised) to easily browse the Internet or watch cable sports from your non-Samsung tablet or handset onto an HDTV or monitor.

Take it or leave it, folks, the good, the bad, and the ugly.