FLO TV and Mophie team up to bring mobile TV to your iPhone

If you'll recall, FLO TV showed off a proof-of-concept for getting its mobile TV service onto the iPhone back in November of last year. At the time, it required a somewhat unwieldy attachment, which has now melted away with the inclusion of Mophie into the deal, who will integrate the FLO TV hardware into its popular Juice Pack. Both companies are pretty psyched about the synergy of having one device both receiving mobile TV and doing the consequently necessary battery life extension. You'll find their collective announcement after the break, and products can be expected in the first half of the year.

Show full PR text

FLO TV and mophie™ to Bring Live Mobile TV to the Apple® iPhone™ and iPod touch™

Unique Products to Deliver True Live Mobile TV to iPhone and iPod touch Users; Products Combine Live FLO TV™ Service with mophie's Intelligent Case Design

LAS VEGAS - January 6, 2010 - FLO TV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM), and mophie today announced they are teaming to create a series of products that will bring live mobile TV to the iPhone and iPod touch platforms.

The products, which are expected to begin shipping in the first half of this year, will bring the award-winning FLO TV mobile TV service to the cutting-edge mophie juice pack, letting consumers view their favorite live entertainment, sports and news from the world's top entertainment brands on their iPhone and iPod touch.

"We are uniting our vision of advancing mobile TV across a range of devices and platforms with mophie's unrivaled expertise in designing intelligent cases for Apple users," said Bill Stone, president of FLO TV. "Together, our solution will be a true live mobile TV product available to iPhone and iPod touch users."

"mophie's juice pack line has delivered superior rechargeable external battery life to Apple users," said Shawn Dougherty, vice president of mophie, designer of the world's thinnest Apple-certified external battery/protective case and other Apple-certified accessories. "We are thrilled to have the opportunity to elevate our intelligent case design through this creative product collaboration and deliver the ultimate mobile television experience for iPhone users."

The agreement between mophie and FLO TV reflects the growing demand for mobile television and FLO TV's commitment to bring its award-winning service to any small screen. The new products integrate mophie's intelligent case design with a built-in FLO TV receiver that allows iPhone and iPod touch users the ability to watch live television at the flip of a switch. Consumers can also utilize the device as back-up battery power in between charges.

Service not available everywhere. Programming subject to change / blackout restrictions. Service subscription required. "Live mobile television" means the FLO TV service transmits channels in real time; no downloading, sideloading or buffering.

[MikeO654 Posted Jan 6th 2010 2:39PM]

What about AT&T streaming policy?

[Templarian Posted Jan 6th 2010 2:43PM]

@MikeO654, did you read the article?

[MikeO654 Posted Jan 6th 2010 2:52PM]

@(Unverified) oh ok, gotcha. Very cool indeed.

[SDsteve Posted Jan 6th 2010 2:52PM]

@MikeO654

well flo tv doesnt go over the network it is RF frequency so that is a moot point.

[TheRogueFFAngel Posted Jan 6th 2010 2:48PM]

LOVE IT!

[xCrunk Posted Jan 6th 2010 2:50PM]

Kiss my grits, Mel!

[SDsteve Posted Jan 6th 2010 2:55PM]

Qualcomm is really doing it big this year with their snapdragon chips in all new phones (android, winmo ,etc 1Ghz chips yay!) and now FLO TV... look out!

[TrueEddie Posted Jan 6th 2010 2:55PM]

And I thought the Tivit product sounded cool. This is way better.

[GarageBattle Posted Jan 6th 2010 3:00PM]

Here are some facts:

1. Existing Mophie Juice Pack reduces signal strength. The back of the iPhone is made of plastic to allow reception to get out. What better way to improve that then block it with a battery.

2. If this device does not allow passthrough audio through the bottom dock connector many devices will not work properly (ie. my Sony car stereo). This is a lesson that both Navigon and TomTom havent learned.

3. Fix those things and you have a wicked product. Otherwise I will keep using Orb.

[Mentat Posted Jan 6th 2010 4:43PM]

@GarageBattle

I have had a JuicePack Air for about 4 months and never had a problem with signal (I live 20 minutes south of STL) compared to other AT&T phones I've had.

that being said, they put an extra 1200 mAh Battery behind your device and you didnt think it would get in the way of the INTERNAL antenna of the device?
thats like saying
"I put my phone behind a 1/8 inch lead plate and I don't know why its signal isn't as strong"

[ummhello Posted Jan 6th 2010 3:50PM]

Flo TV needs to have more channels and more timely content. Checked it out at BestBuy and read some reviews on Amazon.com....buyer beware. Flo is on the right track, though. It just doesn't have the content and their advertising would have you believe that you get all their channels at their listed monthly price but you only get 7 to 9 channels included in the base subscription.

[Reisa Posted Jan 7th 2010 2:04AM]

@(Unverified) Agreed. I'd be happier if companies would work on the quality of OTA digital reception on mobile devices. Most hand-held TVs these days are absolutely worthless - but I'd love to see an OTA signal add-on for iPhone and other phones.

[Charlie Eggwhite Posted Jan 6th 2010 4:06PM]

In the UK you can already get free live TV streaming over a 3g network via iphone.tvcatchup.com

[Mentat Posted Jan 6th 2010 4:48PM]

@Charlie Eggwhite

The UK is the size of one of our small states- so it actually costs money to build a nationwide network here.

[Charlie Eggwhite Posted Jan 6th 2010 5:21PM]

@Mentat

To quote yourself: "That's all fine and dandy but, what does that have to with this post?"

[nicholas1987ucsb Posted Jan 6th 2010 4:09PM]

Why doesn't someone just make a mobile version of Hulu and then this would all be null? I am glad Qualcomm is maturing though, eventually I hope Qualcomm and Nvidia can end Intel's monopoly.

[Deaf Posted Jan 6th 2010 4:27PM]

Any chance the shows are closed captioned?

[horchata Posted Jan 6th 2010 4:32PM]

I don't want a show like Heroes on my phone even if it was for free.

[HighestRanked Posted Jan 6th 2010 4:58PM]

@horchata switch over to Univision and watch those Mexican soap operas that everyone's talking about

[izikavazo Posted Jan 6th 2010 5:39PM]

@horchata
Ugh, I know! What out of touch fool chose Heroes?

[One Love Posted Jan 6th 2010 5:18PM]

Once upon a time the was a "magic" free program called "WebGuide" which allowed remote viewing, streaming and scheduling of live TV, movies and recorded programs from your windows media center box to any mobile device or internet connected device. Sadly Microsoft hired the developer and he stopped updating it after vista released...that was...by far...the best free program ever. :| I could watch my recorded shows (lag free) on my windows phone.

http://www.asciiexpress.com/webguide/

[techlord Posted Jan 6th 2010 6:50PM]

Problem is the battery life, video eat the battery most. The most is watching 1 episode of Heroes before battery is nearly dry.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 7th 2010 12:10AM]

@techlord Wow really? I can watch two movies in high def on my Droid and still have battery left. Also, Jetflicks is available for Android (TV...network shows, HBO, and Showtime).