SlingPlayer Mobile for BlackBerry exits beta, iPhone version submitted to App Store

Get ready, BlackBerry users, because your days are officially about to become less productive (or, at the very least, your mass transit commutes). You too, iPhone types -- not to say you didn't already have enough time-wasting apps cluttering that 8 to 16GB wasteland you call "storage" in your pocket -- because SlingPlayer Mobile is destined for both of these platforms. BlackBerry's already had it since December in beta form, but they're now at a stable 1.0 release; and speaking of 1.0 releases, that iPhone version Sling's been talking up for a while now has now been submitted to Apple's App Store for approval, so we hope we'll be seeing that on the open market shortly. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have some Dora to watch on the Bold.

[Via TUAW, thanks Digitac]

Read - BlackBerry
Read - iPhone

[Saad Rabia @ Mar 26th 2009 6:55PM]

Breaking...

Good Lord!

[a ham sandwich @ Mar 26th 2009 6:57PM]

Dddddd..Dora!

[Ryan Brown @ Mar 26th 2009 7:03PM]

Finally! I have heard it comes out next week and it will be $40! WTF who is going to pay $40 for the app?

[mattnisbet @ Mar 26th 2009 7:36PM]

And just where did you hear that?

[Engadgeter @ Mar 26th 2009 7:40PM]

Forty dollars would be a rip but i'll pay it. This is the Holy Grail of iPhone apps. Give me turn by turn navigation and I'm ready to drink some more Kool-Aid, Oh Yah!! (Yes I know Win Mo has had this for years but I lost my stylus which rendered my HTC Apache useless).

[Nat @ Mar 26th 2009 8:16PM]

Otherwise for only $10 you can get Orb which has been out for months ...

[Brian @ Mar 26th 2009 9:44PM]

@nat
orb requires a computer with a tv tuner card running 24/7
also, slingbox can watch and control from a cablebox/dvr

where does everyone see this costs $40?

[Michael @ Mar 26th 2009 7:05PM]

Ausgezeichnet! Hopefully apple wastes little time and get's the darn app approved ASAP! :)

[JamesR @ Mar 26th 2009 8:10PM]

I dunno, some shows might have swearing in it...might not get Apple's approval...

[matt @ Mar 27th 2009 12:06AM]

FUCK THAT, plus it prob not coming out till 3.0 where the'll show it off like a major apple breakthrough, and thats also when they add the 'official' ability to stream video.

[iphonerulez @ Mar 27th 2009 1:05PM]

Slingplayer will be a major breakthrough for the iPhone, just like no other handset in the world had it. An app only becomes important once it's on the iPhone. That can't be helped since Apple and iPhone is at the center of the the smartphone world. Just having the Slingplayer app on the iPhone will probably drive SlingBox sales. It's all part of the iPhone halo of goodness.

[Kevin @ Mar 26th 2009 7:12PM]

omg omg omg sweet glorious day!

I hope we don't get raped on the price!

[Casual Viewer @ Mar 26th 2009 7:25PM]

everyone should start buying stuff like this.

[Jarhead2012 @ Mar 26th 2009 7:32PM]

This has been long coming, and finally it's released. As an owner of none of the aforementioned devices (Slingbox, BlackBerry, iPhone), I can't say I'll use this, but it seems only natural that they would be released at some point, and a lot of people I know will be happy about it

[Jarhead2012 @ Mar 26th 2009 7:32PM]

...only natural that they would release this app at some point...*

[Hamidxa @ Mar 26th 2009 7:55PM]

Really, Engadget?

I mean, seriously.

4 iPhone (5 Apple-related in total) posts on the current first page alone, on an otherwise average Thursday.

You purposely go out of your way to post each and every single little mention from modding it to installing a few apps that have already existed on WinMo for years now mind you, but you refuse to show WinMo the very same courtesy.

Why not start an Apple blog or a mobile phone blog for posting all things Apple....call it TUAW or Engadget Mobile, or something along those lines.

Do you wonder why your readership/views has declined by approximately 600% over the course of the last 12 months...

[nismo334 @ Mar 26th 2009 8:40PM]

You understand that Alexa doesn't measure Firefox users right? That is like 95% of the people on here.

[Superstition @ Mar 26th 2009 9:30PM]

To balance your complaint, I'm a big iPhone fan and it's a reason why I visit engadget on a regular basis.

It's not like there aren't tons of other stories. And it's not like it's a hard site to navigate. If you don't like the iPhone stories, move your cursor down to the next story.

[Shank @ Mar 26th 2009 10:15PM]

Engadgeters voted iPhone smartphone of the year! Over storm, g1, Sony experia, or any htc wm. Sorry this was definitely a bad year for wm phones n fanboys. Go lakers all the way in 2009!dominating !!oh engadgeters also voted iPod touch pmp of the year!!! Not to be confused with mac n pimp of the year.Now that's what I'm talking about. Accept defeat.

[Shank @ Mar 27th 2009 12:38AM]

Touch Pro simply doesn't deliver when it comes to performance. The smartphone is buggy and frustratingly slow,no standard headphone jack.no dedicated camera key. music player is ages behind u know what ,accelorometer is sluggish. battery sucks n drains quick, plastic face instead of glass. Sliding QWERTY keyboard feels like it’s going to break. Stylus mounted on bottom of device - falls out ,Call quality is tinny,camera takes forever to take the picture the person literally has to sit still for 5-7 seconds till the picture is taken!!! . the touch is very unaccurate and choppy comppared to iphone or g1. Basically this phone does everything but make a good phone. locking up or delaying in between modes… If you go from the main screen to the qwerty text position it closes out & opens up again and then it is fine but it is still a delay and just downright annoying for the top dollar you spend to own this PDA.-screens keep disappearing or appearing spontaneously,I can’t reply to texts without going through a number of steps,when putting a new number in contacts it requires that you type the contact name in two places and often the screen disapears in the middle forcing me to restart the process,and finally browser blows compared to iphone.i have spoken n silenced.

[Chris Ziegler @ Mar 27th 2009 1:28AM]

You are an authentic moron.

[Leo Maia @ Mar 27th 2009 7:13PM]

If you don't like iPhone or Apple news, just skip them. I do this with things I don't care every single day on Engadget, my local newspaper and every site I go. If I don't like it, I just don't read it.

I wonder how can a number fall down more than 100%. Just curious.

[vansmack @ Mar 26th 2009 7:55PM]

If you promise not to watch any Skinimax on your iPhone, I'm sure Apple will approve this app in no time. Otherwise it might not meet Apple's high standards for taste and morals.

[Shank @ Mar 26th 2009 8:03PM]

LOL ,,$40???!!!! What a fail,, LOL

[insky @ Mar 26th 2009 8:25PM]

You do realize the $40 is going to be the iPhone price right? Go ahead and look on Sling Media's website. The price is $29.99 for all other phone platforms. I'm guessing that $10 jump in price is for having to deal with the App Approval Process.

[Brian @ Mar 26th 2009 9:42PM]

where did you read $40?

[cmil1212 @ Mar 26th 2009 8:06PM]

Apple won't approve it though according to rumor...

[Jim @ Mar 26th 2009 10:27PM]

Yeah $40 is steep for an app but I'll be getting it, slinging on my Ipod Touch would most certainly blow away my tiny Palm Treo screen.

[coehort @ Mar 26th 2009 8:12PM]

any news on when it will be available for the Storm? Unfortunately it doesn't work on the blackberry that I have

[Cheryl @ Mar 29th 2009 7:05AM]

slingbox won't work for Verizon. :(
I don't understand why Verizon won't let it through on their blackberry.

[Bellybutton_Fuzz @ Mar 26th 2009 8:18PM]

Wasn't this supposed to be on Android too??

[Dan Davis @ Mar 27th 2009 4:27PM]

Patiently waiting with my G1 in hand...

[Superstition @ Mar 26th 2009 9:28PM]

Finally, it has happened to me right in front of my face my feelings can't describe it!

Hopefully this is one of those quickly approved apps.

[brushsyn17 @ Mar 26th 2009 10:12PM]

Might not happen. Watch AT&T put that media flow on it with 3.0

[jake @ Mar 26th 2009 9:51PM]

I think they know how much unit the sold, and only part of buyer has iPhone. If they all buy it at $9.99 they would only make X amount of dollar and also as to share with Apple. So they figure out they want make at lease $30 that's why.

Marketing 101
- Use iPhone app make more people buy Slingbox unit (which cost more) and Slingbox is per user anyway.
- If people see and understand the benefit to watch their DVR or TV at anywhere, I bet they can sell at lease X10 more unit.

[shade @ Mar 26th 2009 10:42PM]

I vaguely recall getting this app for free when I installed it on my N95, and that was about all I was expecting to be charged for it. $40 to use this thing on the iPhone/iPod Touch is ridiculous, Sling should be giving this to the customers who bought their hardware for free, or at least charging a LOT less...$9.95 seems like a fair price.

As a side note, it will be interesting to see if it even makes it past the approval process. ATT's network is already buckling under the load of all the iPhone customers that never would have been using their devices in such a data-intensive fashion, I just can't see this improving their bottom line at all.

[Xultar @ Mar 26th 2009 11:48PM]

ROFL. If it is approved it'll be neutered. WiFi only and not worth 40 buckage.

[iphonerulez @ Mar 27th 2009 1:12PM]

I'd heard months ago that the likely price for Slingplayer Mobile on the iPhone would be $30. That's rather high compared to other iPhone apps. I think that $10 would be a fair and reasonable price considering a lot of iPhone owners might be tempted to go out and buy Slingboxes. It would be amazing if the Slingplayer iPhone app would drive Slingbox sales. I don't own an iPhone, but I use my Slingbox Pro constantly for all my other computers on my home network. That is one useful device to own.

[loonix @ Mar 27th 2009 1:12PM]

Wha! No Verizon Blackberry support?!?
Outrageous.

[Sean @ Mar 27th 2009 3:50PM]

Now I just sit patiently and wait for Storm support.

[jordanandallison @ Mar 27th 2009 7:32PM]

Ok, I am like the furthest thing from a "fanboy" for either side. I have an iPod touch, I have a Dell laptop, I have a custom desktop with Windows 7. I am REALLY sick of reading these comments bashing Engadget.

IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T READ IT!

This is not your website, they can post about Nigerian politics if they damn well please, if you don't like it, don't read. When you run your own site with AOL fundding, you can post whatever you want. It's nobody's place to bitch about what they post, it's their site.

[Furo @ Mar 28th 2009 5:29PM]

Been using WinMo since the mid-90's and early WinCE days. The entire time, it's just always felt like there was something missing. Performance! I carry a Verizon XV6800 with custom firmware, and it does what I need, but doesn't do as much as I WANT. I will never do iPhone as long as they are chained to AT&T's horrid data network and crappy coverage in all but the largest cities.

However, I do carry an iPod Touch 2G with me at all times. Using WMWiFiRouter, the iPod Touch connects to the Internet at any time I wish, much like having an iPhone with a real data network. I was JUST about to purchase the WinMo version of SlingPlayer, but I will absolutely wait now. The WinMo version is $30, so I fully expect the iPhone/iPod version to be $30-40 with Apple taking their cut, but I will not buy both under any circumstances.

I love my Slingbox, but WinMo is just to slow to keep up with what Apple is doing. WinMo 6.5 is going to be an embarrassment with that honeycomb hackjob. I attended a Mobius event back in 2001 and the overwhelming theme was to bring a real web browser to the platform... 2001 and Microsoft STILL hasn't made it happen. And they wonder why they fail to "get" the Internet. This is why. Put a great Internet experience into the hands of users and they will flock in droves. Apple did that with the iPhone/iPod Touch on the first attempt with their Safari browser. Perfect? Hardly, but leaps and bounds ahead of WinMo. I'm not a fanboy... yes, I carry both and find use in both, but Apple gets it. Let's just hope they keep getting it or cause Microsoft to finally catch up. This is where competition can benefit everyone.