by Denise Marie Anton

Created on: September 09, 2010   Last Updated: October 07, 2010

Apple AirPlay has arrived. Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the updated version of the company’s wireless media streaming system, formerly known as AirTunes, on September 1, 2010. Along with the new name comes a whole new set of features that has led some industry experts to hail AirPlay as a revolutionary step toward the future of wireless home entertainment.

Like AirTunes, AirPlay lets users stream their iTunes music wirelessly throughout their homes via Wi-Fi or Ethernet.  But that’s where the similarity ends. Here are some of the main ways these two products part company:

More options

AirPlay gives users more options for both the source and the destination of their streamed music. While AirTunes could stream music only from a computer, AirPlay can stream from any Apple device that runs iTunes, including mobile devices such as iPod, iPhone and iPad. And on the receiving end, while AirTunes streamed only to other computers that were also running iTunes—or to Apple’s AirPort Express—AirPlay can stream to any of the new third-party stereo systems that will have built-in AirPlay technology.

More information

AirPlay streams more than just the music itself. AirPlay-enabled speakers with graphic displays will be able to show users everything they need or want to know about the song that’s playing: the title, the artist, the album, the amount of time left on the track. They will even display the album art.

More control

And because AirPlay gives users more streaming options and more information, it also gives them more control over their music. Want to pause, skip, shuffle, backtrack, repeat, or change the volume? There’s an app for that: specifically, the Remote app on an iPhone or iPod touch.

More third-party choices

The catch, of course, is that consumers who want to take advantage of these new features will have to invest in some new stereo equipment. The good news is that they will have a wide array of third-party manufacturers to choose from. Denon, Bowers & Wilkins, JBL, and iHome are among the audio firms Apple has lined up so far to produce the new AirPlay-enabled components. Depending on the success of AirPlay, other manufacturers may well be climbing aboard in the future.

More industry growth

The technology behind these new capabilities was developed in partnership with a software company called BridgeCo. The company has been working with Apple for years on docking and wireless technologies. In 2009, the

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