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View SlideshowRecently I was on a bus heading home when the person next to me was watching a live news report on the horrendous traffic jam in the Lincoln Tunnel in New York City. She was using a Samsung Instinct with Sprint as the carrier.
She could have been listening to the all news station on her MP3 player with FM radio…or sent a text message to her friend to check the status of the tunnel…or just called someone. But when she realized that the jam was going to take at least 45 minutes to clear, she started watching live videos from MTV and a financial news show live from Wall Street and then nicely let some of the regular commuters on this bus in on the latest market news, gossip and sports scores.
I’ve said streaming TV on a phone is nearly unwatchable, but I’ve changed my tune. Following that terrible ride home, when I also left my favorite Jack Finney book in the office, I started to examine several mobile phones and service providers that offer TV on a cell phone.
I’ve now used a LG Voyager via Verizon and a Samsung Instinct through Sprint’s network and got terrific home videos and even cable-like TV, just like the advertisements say.
And yes, I’ve used the iPhone to get to YouTube, but despite its advanced features, the Apple product does not offer live TV. And, considering some of the devices I just tested, and now that I’ve used most of the alternatives, I don’t understand all the fuss about the Apple product ….but that’s for another column.
While a number of serviced providers offer different kinds of video applications on their mobile phones like downloading music videos, transferring home videos or maybe getting a portion of YouTube, for me and many others, if you are going to watch TV on your phone, it should be live!
And, if you are a Blackberry addict (there’s video available on some of those devices, too), you might not know that Samsung, LG, HTC and even the venerable Palm Corporation are making devices that make pretty compelling live and on-demand TV. Those brands also make products for AT@T mobile service, unfortunately from what I hear; Ma Bell is so inconsistent in some parts of the country, that Mobile TV may look worse than those choppy early TV on a PC features.
With devices using Sprint and Verizon you get a pretty decent choice of TV stations, video features and, if you are also interested in business uses, you are getting a super high-speed way to get your email and web viewing….and live from Wall Street reports (if you can stomach them).
I particularly like the Sprint-based Samsung Instinct because, without any fanfare or learning curve, I was watching TV on the touch screen-based device. Ironically, it worked fine in an area of New England where regular terrestrial TV is hard to come by.
In addition, the Instinct, which many experts compare to the iPhone, had another feature that I thought I would never use - an instant point of interest GPS locator. So, while I got CNN talking about the takeover of Wendy’s Hamburger chain, I immediately got in the mood for semi high quality fast food.
ha ha your funny. You obviously paid a few dollars for that iphone and you were a cell phone virgin before that. I’ve had the best cell phones that money can buy for the past 15 years while you were still using a beeper. I have 14 cell phones and i also bought my wife the iphone when it came out. And did i not tell you that the internet does not work on the iphone no flash player and no javascript. And as for the touch screen i have friends who have to replace their iphone every couple of months because the screen keeps on breaking.. And can you explain to me why it’s got a crappy 2mp camera ITS so out dated. Trust me i know alot more about cell phones than you do. Your not a true tecy. Your just an iphone yuppie
all archaic mobile platforms . .
symbian is crap,
winmo is crap
palm is crap,
blackberyy is great but limited . .
the iphone OS is by far the most powerful mobile OS in the world,
and the only other mobile OS that raises an eyebrow is android.
and show me another phone before the iphone that let you interact with anything the way the iphone does, pinch to zoom, turn phone to rotate web viewing, double tap to zoom, flick up and down to browse.
these features are only now becoming common place, after the iphone brought them to the main stream . .
bottom line is . .
they changed the game. eat it.
hi anyone who know’s anything about cell phones knows that the iphone is a piece of crap besides the fact the even the new 3 g iphone is still a few years behind in technology compared to european and asian phones. And every thing that’s on the iphone is stolen from other cell phones like the touch screen youtube the poor excuse of gps and the music phone and is only 3g and it’s only a 2mp camera and the internet doesn’t have javascript or a flash player which you need to see everything on the web. just to name a few. My nokia n96 specs are ten times better than the iphone. So you really need to learn a few things about cell phones before you say anything about them. And as for the sling mobile it’s not that great you need a constant internet connection. The tv in the n96 is being broadcasted straight to the phone no internet and no extra cost. Here’s some phones you should check out. Samsung omnia, samsung i8510, sony ericsson x1, nokia n95, Nokia n96, sony ericsson c905, just to name a few.
the iphone is better because it has an operating system that will outlive the current hardware . . its a platform that can be built upon . . especially by 3rd parties . .
besides that,
for tv on your phone,
try sling . .
they have mobile versions,
and one should be coming out for the iphone sooner then later . .
sprint and verizon are still in the mindset that they can charge an arm and a leg for certain features and keep them very restricted . .
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ive had many symbian phones, win mobile phones, etc . .
they all suck.
my iphone can control all the lighting in my house, control my music distribution system (including activating and deactivating zones), it can sync wirelessly with my filemaker pro database, i can vnc in to any computer, it can even control crestron systems . . the list goes on and on . .
but i see im wasting my time with you . .
you dont understand what power means.