In a case of oh shiznit, LG and Samsung are combining forces to protect their mobile TV interests in the US. With Qualcomm's proprietary MediaFLO digital broadcast technology rapidly gaining a mobile TV foothold in the US (thanks to AT&T and Verizon) and Europe standardizing on DVB-H, it seems that LG and Samsung (the once proud and gloating parents of the DMB standard) have little choice but to support the ATSC's attempt to create the ATSC-M/H standard in the US... about three years too late. Of course, the ultimate victor will have very little to do with what's best for the consumer and everything to do with who is most successful at lobbying the government. Oh, did that sound bitter? Good.

Ah ha! So this is what DISH Network was planning on doing with its recently-purchased swath of spectrum. Just under two months after analysts pondered what the firm was thinking throwing out bids for a smidgen of bandwidth -- and not even a fortnight after the ICO G1 successfully launched in order to bring DVB-SH to America -- out comes the whole truth. The satcaster is teaming up with Alcatel-Lucent to test the Digital Video Broadcasting - Satellite services to Handhelds technology right here in the US, with A-L providing the equipment, test tools and training. The evaluation will be taking place at a DISH facility in Atlanta from May until August, with the ultimate goal to "validate the performance and cost-efficiency of the DVB-SH standard." As expected, we're only given crumbs of information as to where this partnership may lead, but we should be much more clear on everything by the time the summer concludes.

Motorola just announced a new portable DVB-H TV to followup its DH01. The name? DH02, of course. The new mobile TV now features a GPS receiver and Tele Atlas maps, an HSDPA / GPRS back-channel for interactive media, and new "auto-flip" portrait to landscape (presumably via accelerometer) touch-screen display of unspecified dimensions. The UI takes advantage of the touch-screen with an "intuitive click, drag, and scroll" navigation. Moto does call the WQVGA display high-resolution -- which is anything but high if the DH02 carries the same 4.3-inch display of the DH01. Motorola also likes to call the DH02 a PVR since it includes a 5 minute buffer for timeshifting, live pause, and frame grabbing. Thing is, while the former DH01 could record video, that capability is not mentioned anywhere in the DH02 press release. Perhaps the microSD slot is dedicated to GPS maps now, instead of recording space. It does offer Bluetooth and, uh hem, "stunning" video playback. Really moto, stunning video from a sub 30fps play rate in a 480 x 272 resolution? Hyperbole of the press release aside, we're still looking forward to a hands-on at CTIA next week.

As expected, the European Commission just did the obvious and made the EU's de facto DVB-H standard, standard. The move is expected to accelerate the deployment of mobile television services across Europe in the same way that GSM standardization in the early 90s gave Europe a head-start on backwater cellular locations like North America. So get outta Dodge Qualcomm and South Korea with your MediaFLO and DMB mobile television technologies, you aren't welcome around Brussels anymore.

PacketVideo has a new receiver which can pump mobile TV over good ol' WiFi. PV claims the device will ultimately ship before the year is out in versions supporting over-the-air DVB-H and MediaFLO broadcasting as well as TDtv and WiMAX streaming. Although it's presumably compatible with any WiFi device, they specifically cite support for the iPhone, N-Series Nokias and HTC devices while demonstrating the device with an iPod touch at Mobile World Congress. The 6.4 x 1.8 x 4-cm block is powered by a lithium-ion battery of unspecified capabilities. Although it's not stated, we assume the received television can be shared with multiple devices over that wireless link -- else why bother with WiFi?

[Via Slashphone]

No, it's not that 700MHz spectrum, but the $2.5 billion sale of the airwaves to AT&T from private firm Aloha Partners could have implications as large as Auction 73's massive, open-access Block C itself. Given that Aloha's Hiwire trials for DVB-H-based mobile TV have been playing in the 700MHz arena, we suspect this could spell doom for the whole project -- and on the heels of Modeo's collapse, very likely spells doom for DVB-H on the whole in the US. Though that's great news for Qualcomm and DVB-H competitor MediaFLO, it's awful news for the prospect of a global mobile TV standard, closely (if not eerily) following what happened years back with the European Union's selection of GSM and the rise of CDMA in North America. For its part, AT&T says it's going to use its newfound airwaves -- which cover 72 of the top 100 US markets -- for "broadcast video or for two-way communications such as voice, data or multicast content." Admittedly, the "broadcast video" part of that leads us to believe that Hiwire could somehow survive the change in ownership, but with AT&T's selection of MediaFLO last year as its standard of choice, it sure ain't likely.

Motorola's really nerding out about DVB-H here, but if you look past all the tech speak, it turns out Motorola is prepping an actual product to support its mobile TV efforts. The DH01 sounds pretty much exactly like one of those South Korean portable digital TVs, only this one's silicon runs red white and blue. That's right, 2008 means mobile TV is finally going to come into its own in the States, and the DH01 isn't a bad way to kick off the year. The unit sports a 4.3-inch screen, displays video at 25fps, can record TV to and play various media from SD cards, and lasts four hours in the battery department. Maybe not the most exciting of beginnings, but if Korea's product cycle here is any indication, we'll have a lot more of these to choose from before the year is up -- that is, if cellphones don't win out in this space altogether.

Though it once appeared as if DVB-SH was headed for high times in Europe, DVB-H eventually won out as the nationwide standard, but that certainly doesn't mean other standards can't compete within the region. Reportedly, Alcatel-Lucent has agreed to launch the first trial of the technology in Italy with RAI and 3 Italia, and while DVB-SH would likely be more costly to implement due to its position in the spectrum, European telecoms are grasping for options to satisfy the growing desire for mobile TV. If all goes as planned, the trials will take place in Turin over the next few months, but it wasn't clear when Jane / John Doe would be called in to participate. Also of note, a cellphone provider has yet to be selected, but it sounds like Samsung and Sagem both made it onto the short list.

[Via mocoNews]

Intel, clearly not wanting to be left in the dust by the slew of new wireless technologies that are starting to converge, nasty-like, inside our shiny new devices, has begun testing on a chip which can effortlessly swap between WiFi, WiMAX, and DVB-H. The idea is that the chip's radio would talk to your WiFi at home, hand over the data to WiMAX if you hit the road, and also allow you to pull down digital television while staying mobile -- without having to use an array of separate radios or silicon. This should open up a whole new vista of possibilities for time-wasting activities, so whenever manufacturers want to get this into our phones / laptops, just say the word. We're ready.

[Via Slashdot]

The European mobile phone community was rocked by the news today that DVB-H (or Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld) is set to become the new standard for mobile TV across the Union. The technology -- a superset of DVB-T -- has been spearheaded by Nokia, and this move is meant to help widen the system's audience. Though the move has been opposed by some EU states, such as Germany and Britain, the standard is being pushed through. "DVB-H will be published by the Commission in the list of official EU standards," said an EU executive, adding that, "As a result, all EU Member States will have to support and encourage the use of DVB-H for the launch of mobile TV services, thus avoiding market fragmentation and allowing economies of scale and accordingly affordable services and devices." So much for our fledgling standard, DVB-X (the X is for extreme).

If you've ever wondered just how much functionality could be crammed into a single PC Card, it seems that Onda and Siano are out to give you an answer. Deemed the "world's first combined DVB-H / HSDPA card" for Italy's TIM, the DT501HS enables users to suck down mobile TV and internet content in one fell swoop, but we've no idea if / when this thing will be made available on any other carrier(s). Notably, this device relies on Siano's wee PCB-mounted SMS8021 antenna, which means that you won't find any external protrusions here. As for pricing, we weren't able to locate any hard figures, but those parked in Italy should be able to snap one up anytime now in TIM stores.

[Image courtesy of Cellular]

We aren't insinuating that you should attach any level of truth to these rumors just yet, but the boards of Esato are alive with murmurs of a few new SE handsets that could be launched as early as tomorrow. Amongst the mobiles that we could hear more about (officially) in the coming day is the Cyber-shot-branded "Victoria" -- which will supposedly be 14-millimeters thick and sport a 1.9-inch QVGA screen, five color options, and a 128MB M2 card bundled in -- and the still elusive "Veronica." Additionally, we could also be treated to the W350, a Cyber-shot clamshell / Cyber-shot slider, and new "accessories" to boot. Best of all, though, is that you've just a single day left to find out if there's actually any substance to these whispers, but if it does prove true, it certainly won't be the first time.

[Via PocketPicks]

Joining the slew of other handhelds computers that surfaced at Computex is the Ruggedbook PC657 from Samwell, which does indeed pack a beefy shell to protect the innards from whatever comes its way. The seven-inch UMPC includes a 800 x 600 resolution touchscreen, a 1.2GHz VIA C7M processor, Windows XP Professional, a PCMCIA slot, SDIO / MMC slots, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, a fingerprint scanner, and an integrated camera. Additionally, it'll handle up to 1GB of RAM, offers up your choice of 30, 60, or 80GB 1.8-inch hard drives if you're not kosher with the built-in 2GB/4GB/8GB flash storage option, and allows you the luxury of slipping a DVB-H tuner or GPS module into the PC Card slot if you so desire. We hope you weren't counting on a price or release date directly from the show floor, but do click on for a few more hands-on pictures.

Italians have been getting a taste of that sweet over-the-air digital TV since last year, with tiny phone screens being their primary and possibly sole method of content intake. Well that won't be the case for too much longer, as mobile carrier 3 has announced a partnership with manufacturer Quantum that will bring a dedicated, 4.3-inch portable DVB-H device to the TV-mad public. Called the QTM 1000, this PMP will be able to pull down 12 live stations including Sky, RIA, and Mediaset, and is said to function as a navigation unit as well (details on that aspect of its functionality are slim to none, however). Also no word so far on pricing, but perhaps we'll learn more as the scheduled release window of "this spring" gets closer.

[Via PMP Today]

It's amazing how short a distance we've travelled since we first spotted Modeo's DVB-H smartphone in April. Sure, now we know that it's just an HTC Foreseer under those orange accents, but after months of promises, the phone is only just now making it into our hands in boxed form. There's live DVB-H service lighting up NYC, but only six channels to watch, and no sign of a commercial launch in sight, as we mentioned yesterday. Luckily, the phone feels good in the hand, and while it might be bit large for an EDGE device in this day and age, it still looks and feels proportional in hand. The screen is quite sharp and general performance is snappy, especially video, thanks to the NVIDIA GoForce 5500 GPU under the hood. TV performance is great, at least as far as we've tested it in Manhattan and Brooklyn -- we'll revisit this in a week or so and let you know how we're doing -- but CNBC, MSNBC, Fox News, Fox Sports, Discovery Channel and E! get old fast, and the eight audio channels are about as basic as it gets. We'll give you our full impressions once we've had some more time to soak it all in, but for now you can peep the unboxing gallery below, along with our hands-on pics from last night's event.