AT&T slowly begins rollout of CruiseCast in-car satellite TV service

It's a bit off its target pace, but it looks like AT&T is now finally starting to roll out its CruiseCast in-car satellite TV / radio service, however slowly. According to OrbitCast, AT&T is now working with "small groups" of car audio specialists and distributors to get the service into the hands of a "few dozen customers" in order to test the service in advance of the full roll-out, which is now somewhat ambitiously promised for early June. In case you missed the announcement back at CES, the service itself consists of 22 live TV channels and 20 radio stations, plus all the necessary, non-user-installable hardware, which will set you back $1,299 up front and $28 a month thereafter. That obviously doesn't pose much of a threat to basic satellite radio just yet although, as OrbitCast points out, it is actually more affordable than some of the current in-car satellite TV options out there, like KVH's $3,000 DirecTV-based system

[matt @ May 21st 2009 5:42PM]

oh they can stream tv to my car but i cant sling to my iPhone. well least they have their priorities right. TV in the car, crazy people.

[mark @ May 21st 2009 5:48PM]

bingo, they dont want you to watch tv though an iphone they want you to buy specifc hardware for your car and pay a huge premium for it, which is ridiculous since their "unlimited" plan is a lot as it is

[xconan @ May 29th 2009 4:32AM]

@ least you can put a 22" in the back seat and not be limited to 2x3 or 480x320 pix not that it matters since the driver can't really enjoy it while driving unless parked. In the back seat of the element or cruiser it adds a nice touch to the passenger seat for those long rides...

[ChillyCat @ May 21st 2009 5:41PM]

Naw..... my divx/xvids will do just fine

[Col. Readily Apparent Upon Cursory Inspection @ May 21st 2009 5:41PM]

Hmm, I will make a prediction and say you would probably only see this in Suburbans with 6 kids and Impalas with 28" spinning rims and purple seat covers.

But I could be wrong...

[AMiSH PiRATE @ May 21st 2009 5:54PM]

and I predict it won't be seen anywhere near this economy. AT&T, you goofballs, you.

[Adam @ May 21st 2009 7:39PM]

My guess is that for Trucks (like big rigs) and RVs this is actually not a bad deal if you are always on the road.

[Paul Mensah @ May 21st 2009 5:43PM]

I have AT&T Cell Phone, Home Phone, Internet, TV and soon I can have AT&T in my car...I just doubled my stock position in AT&T in after-hours market.

[thomas @ May 21st 2009 5:47PM]

but the kvh system is directv...meaning it has 800 live channels and not just 22

[wrs589 @ May 21st 2009 5:52PM]

I don't know anything about it, but it sounds like the KVH system will be much better.

Granted, its $3000 as opposed to $1300, but anyone who can afford to blow $1,200 on In-Car TV probably wouldn't miss $3,000 either.

[ebrunn @ May 21st 2009 7:27PM]

Actually it has its own mobile service. DIRECT TOTAL CHOICE
MOBILE Plus. Up to 185 channels plus locals. Still better than this crap though

[ebrunn @ May 21st 2009 7:34PM]

Only $5 a month as well if you already have directv at home.

[r3loaded @ May 21st 2009 5:57PM]

I don't understand the concept of watching TV in a car - for my family, chatting to each other, looking out at the countryside and spotting rare cars/unusual license plates has been enough to pass the time on long car journeys. Y'know, like families did in the good ol' days...

[Rick wilson @ May 21st 2009 6:44PM]

Doesn't look like anyone in the picture is watching TV in the car anyway...

[Maeztro @ May 21st 2009 9:14PM]

You mean the good old days like when grandpa used to comment on engadget from his iphone?

Get over yourself. Times change.

[GoGoGadget @ May 21st 2009 9:57PM]

yeah, good old days, tripping to NILBOG...
...ahh memories...

[Computer_kid @ May 21st 2009 11:29PM]

I have to agree! Do you really need to watch more mind numbing reality TV, at 65 MPH.

[paul34 @ May 22nd 2009 12:14AM]

If you mean "old days" as in extreme boredom, "are we there yet," and incredibly annoyance at the sheer number of trees on the side of the highway (seriously, nothing better?) then sure, those are the "good old days" as I remember them as a kid.

[Marco Juan @ May 21st 2009 6:21PM]

Do you really need cable TV that bad?

[Shinigami @ May 21st 2009 8:52PM]

Cable TV in a car? lolz

[Ralph @ May 21st 2009 6:25PM]

More logical for the target market, and cheaper subscription:

http://www.sirius.com/backseattv

Re/"why do people need this?"; to each his own.

[Galen20K @ May 21st 2009 6:51PM]

You have GOT to be kidding!!! Jesus thats JUST what people Need!

Most Americans are DmbAzis' on the Road as it IS.

*rolls eyes***

[scott @ May 21st 2009 7:31PM]

Why is it that Americans are always grouped into the stupid/fat/lazy/obnoxiojus catagories?

Last time I checked, stupidity isnt a selective gene....

[paul34 @ May 22nd 2009 12:14AM]

Uhh... what are you talking about?

[Valicore @ May 22nd 2009 5:34AM]

Pfft, I'm an American and I agree completely with the op :P

[Cyclocross @ May 22nd 2009 1:42PM]

"Why is it that Americans are always grouped into the stupid/fat/lazy/obnoxiojus catagories?"

Because it's a fact!!!

According to the World Health Organization the USA has the highest rates of male and female adult obesity of any major industrialized country. We're 5th fattest for men and 8th fattest for women the only countries more obese than the USA are places like Tonga and Samoa.

According to the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) the USA is only ranked 15th for literacy, 35th for math and 29th in science. All of this despite having the 5th highest paid teachers. Go figure.

Laziness is more subjective though the fact that we're the fattest nation pretty much proves we're also lazy. Really hard to be lazy and still stay physically fit! Doesn't help that in much of Europe when people need something from the store they walk or ride their bike. In the USA people feel the need to get in their car, never mind that most people live less than a mile from a grocery store and most of the trips we use our car for are distances of less than 5 miles.

Obnoxious is still very much up for grabs. Last time I was in Paris the Italians and Spaniards were far more obnoxious on their cell phones than any of my fellow Americans.

[PowerCell @ May 21st 2009 7:29PM]

I have the KVH system in my motor coach. I paid $1800 for it new off of ebay. 225 channels, $5 per month to add it to my Direct TV account.

[Roberto @ May 21st 2009 9:29PM]

If any post deserves the Death Star logo, it would be this one.
TV in a car? While many people will find it useful, not for me.

[cary @ May 21st 2009 9:54PM]

So the brilliant minds at AT&T watched KVH's in-car TV experiment fail miserably and decided it was a ripe market to pursue...huh? Now they're going to offer fewer channels for 3-5x the monthly fee. Good luck with that.

[William Su @ May 22nd 2009 4:00PM]

hmm a little expensive if the plan was 30 bucks first time and 10-15 bucks a month i might take it but i wanna turn my navigation into a computer/dvd player/ ect...

[BigD145 @ May 22nd 2009 12:23AM]

I guess if you can afford a couple hundred dollars a month in gas, you can afford this.

[LongshotX @ May 22nd 2009 1:13AM]

Why don't they roll out real 3G and a Family Data Plan instead of this bullshit.

[Ahmet @ May 22nd 2009 10:36AM]

i have an original iphone with at&t with the plan and eveything and lately(2-3months) i am getting more dropped calls and bad connnection, edge and it also gets out of the network and starts searching for at&t again. i talked with some of my friends with 3g iphone and they are having same problems. i live in new york. anybody else getting similar problems?

[John Stracke @ May 22nd 2009 2:21PM]

They're insane. How the bleep do they expect to compete with $100 portable DVD players?

[Todd D. @ Jul 13th 2009 11:44AM]

This article really helped me out.

Thank!

Todd D.

http://veryrecent.com/topic/dish+network+new+hd+channels/

[Todd D. @ Jul 13th 2009 1:50PM]

but we can offer a better deal.......

http://www.prweb.com/releases/americansatellite/todddiroberto/prweb2401714.htm