Sprint invests in yet another form of mobile TV

Just in case the cellphone-TV landscape wasn't confusing enough, another player is about to enter the market, fueled by a $10 million investment from Sprint, which we assume is looking for a decent alternative to its Sprint TV (shown above on the Sanyo MM-7500) and MobiTV offerings, which haven't exactly taken the world by storm. The new service, TDtv, is being developed by equipment provider IPWireless, and is designed to work on 3G TD-CDMA networks. The service can reportedly offer as many as 50 channels for small-screen cellphones, or 15 channels in QVGA. The service is expected to begin tests in Europe and Asia later this year, with Sprint expected to test the service in the US at some point.

[Jimmy @ Jan 18th 2006 3:02PM]

That's so stupid, first of all, you prolly have to pay like a crapton extra for it, and who wants to watch tv on that tiny screen? If it was me, I'd get a location free player by Sony, and put the software on my laptop, get tv wherever you get wifi, and if you wanted to get really fancy you could get a broadband access plan by verizon, then you'd have tv anywhere where verizon gets reception, on a 12-17" screen

[Akakadak @ Jan 18th 2006 3:21PM]

Isn't TV already wireless? Put an ASTC/HD tuner in a portable whatever (provided the screen is at least 5") and that's really all I need. Casio has a 7" portable TV for under $130 - no HD of course. And you can't call anyone from it, yet. ;-)

[Akakadak @ Jan 18th 2006 3:22PM]

Correction... the Casio I referenced has only a 3" screen.

[Dan @ Jan 18th 2006 3:38PM]

Having a video screen that small is just a novelty. People just want to say they have it, but how often do they use it?

[HSK @ Jan 18th 2006 4:53PM]

Not that bad of an idea - but I don't think people will spend their lives on it. Look at the explosion of text msg'ing and the same was said about typing with a phone keypad. The video iPod is about the same size of a phone and it is selling well. Many people have said (I read it somewhere) that cellphone TV would be nice during a commute or at lunch. And who wants to carry yet another device around when you can get it on a phone? Once this gets a little bigger, the handset mfg'ers will figure out how to make the screen bigger w/o impacting the handset size. The all inclusive device is not so far fetched any more.

[jfox @ Jan 18th 2006 5:58PM]

Guys - I think you see the word "TV" and "cell phone" in the same sentence, and you start getting all distraught about it. The idea is not to replace your 42" plasma on the wall. You�re not going to sit in your living room and flip open your phone to watch ESPN. It's for when your on the road, your commuting, your in the bathroom (sanitary issues aside), your on a field trip, your on the bus, your at a picnic, your in the woods, your at a camp out, etc. It for when you have that 5 minute break or 20 minutes when you just want your TV. So, everyone relax, take a deep breath, and think about it. I for one would try it out. But I�m sure not throwing away my 42" HDTV...

[Derek Kerton @ Jan 19th 2006 6:04PM]

This article mixed-up the news a little. The two announcements are completely separate. IPWireless has realeased a mobile TV technology, which they intent to primarily market to European GSM carriers.

In totally SEPARATE news, Sprint has invested $10M in IPWireless because they have increasing faith in that solution. Sprint is testing the IPWireless technology to use in their 2.5GHz spectrum in the USA for mobile broadband, including a range of IP-based services.

[Fernando Fernandez @ Jan 29th 2006 10:13PM]

I love having the T.V. option on my phone. It's perfect for when I get outa class and have an hour to kill before my next class. I can just grab a snack and what NFL live. Sweet.