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Sling announces Symbian SlingPlayer, partnership with 3
Believe it or not, in some countries personal broadcasting to mobile video is actually encouraged, and Sling's about to capitalize on that more democratic "wireless dialtone" trend. (Verizon, Cingy, we're looking at you.) Paired up with 3, they've announced their SlingPlayer Symbian client for UIQ and S60 alike. At least the N73 and W950 have officially now been shown running the new client it as a part of 3's X-Series initiative, aimed at making mobile internet, well, useful to customers without fear of reprisal for data usage. (Verizon, Cingy, we're still looking at you.) UK residents will be able to get their hands on X-series gear come December 1st, but the rest of us may have to wait some undetermined amount of time before the Symbian client is released for mass consumption.
YouTube coming to a cellphone near you, next year
You can already upload videos from your cellphone to YouTube, but that's just the beginning. According to the recently-Googlefied company's chief executive and co-founder Chad Hurley, you'll soon be able to view videos directly on your mobile device as well. Reuters is reporting that Hurley recently told an advertising conference that he hopes to have a mobile YouTube service of some sort ready to go "within the next year," adding that it's a natural transition for them and going to be a huge market. Not surprisingly, he didn't spill any further details, so you'll have to keep on doing your time wasting the old fashioned way in the meantime.[Via The Wireless Report]
Sirius video service coming this year, sez Karmazin
Talk of a Sirius satellite video service has been going on for practically as long as Sirius itself has been around, but it looks like it's now finally, maybe, definitely getting closer to reality. In a conference call yesterday, Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin himself said: "We are close to signing deals to offer the best video programming for kids as part of our OEM offering in the second half of the year" -- seems pretty definitive, no? The focus on kids programming certainly jives with earlier statements from the company on how they foresaw the service being used, but the launch date is actually earlier than most recent word we've heard from Sirius Senior VP Bob Law, who pegged it to be sometime "post-CES 2007." We can only assume that they're still planning for the service to be a live one, as opposed to cached, but your guess is as good as ours as to what it'll actually look like.[Via MobileMag]
View your iPod's video on a 7" screen
Here's a nifty device. The i1055 Video System by iLuv (doesn't the name just roll off your tongue?) has a dock that fits either the 30GB or 60GB iPod and a 7" widescreen (16:9 aspect ratio) active-matrix LCD for playing your 'Pod's content. Just plug your iPod in and go. The i1055 also features S video out, slow motion and fast forward, plus DVD, VCD, audio CD and MP3 CD functionality. The iPod is charged as long as it's docked (when the i1055 is plugged in) and the device itself runs on a built-in Ni-MH rechargeable battery for video on the go.It comes in both black and white and will run you $249.95US.[Via iLounge]
Stream MythTV content to any 3G phone
When a person is on a mission, he/she can accomplish anything, no matter how Rube Goldberg-esque the solution turns out to be, so you can forgive Gary Lerhaupt's rather complicated how-to on streaming recorded programs to any 3G-enabled cellphone. Far too detailed to go into the specifics here, Lerhaupt's method basically programs your MythTV box to send recorded TV shows to a computer running Apple's open source Darwin Streaming Server software, which sets up dedicated URLs for each file and allows you to stream from your handset's browser at will. Those without pretty decent tech skillz should probably not attempt this one, as even the how-to assumes some knowledge of 3gp video conversion, script running, and something called an rtsp streaming protocol; instead, you're probably better off spending a few extra bucks on that Windows Mobile phone and employing the no-brainer solutions that the good folks at Orb and Sling Media have already come up with.
YouTube enables uploading from cellphones
If you're a fan of watching shakey videos of teenagers fighting each other and illegally racing cars, then you'll be pleased to learn that YouTube has just launched a new service allowing members to upload videos directly from their cellphones. Compatible with all four major carriers, the upload service requires users to set up a mobile profile in order to generate a unique email address that all videos must be sent to for posting. What a great world we live in, where you can happy slap a stranger in the street and almost immediately broadcast your crime to millions of eager voyeurs.[Via jkOnTheRun]
Sirius execs confirm video service will be live
In an announcement that is being described as a victory for couch potatoes worldwide, Sirius execs at the recent Morgan Stanley Global Automotive Conference claimed that despite rumors to the contrary, Sirius Video will indeed be a live, streaming service (as opposed to delivering cached content). Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin gave the example of a Nickelodeon-loving rugrat -- whose traumatic Spongebob-downtime will soon be mercifully limited to the short walk between couch and minivan -- as the type of customer who will benefit from live broadcasts. Although we've known that Sirius was planning to roll out a video service for well over a year now, this is the first time anyone has been able to pin down the suits on a launch window, with Senior VP Bob Law citing a "post-CES 2007" target for the initial rollout.
NFL draft on Sprint could indicate new trend
Because missing even a second of this year's football draft could wreak havoc on your performance in the coming season's fantasy leagues, Sprint is thoughtfully broadcasting the "action" live to subscribers of their Sprint TV NFL Mobile package. While this news in and of itself is rather mundane (especially to us non-football fans), the fact that Sprint has exclusive wireless rights to the draft while Monday Night Football rights-holder ESPN is barred from streaming the broadcast to its Mobile ESPN subscribers is rather interesting, and could be indicative of future trends. Although the demand for mobile TV is still definitely up in the air, might there be a day when enough rabid football fans have 3G-enabled cellphones to make it profitable for wireless carriers to bid against traditional networks on the games themselves, and broadcast them exclusively to a mobile audience?[Via Moco News]
Nick Mobile brings SpongeBob to Sprint
Nickelodeon just announced their new Nick Mobile deal for Sprint TV subscribers. The new service, presumably pumped out by MobiTV, delivers more of those two minute video clips Sprint TV subscribers are accustomed to, only now from the Nick Jr. library which features kid faves such as Dora the Explorer, Blue's Clues, SpongeBob, and so on. So at least your little'ns will be entertained, albeit for a mere two minutes at a time, should you need to hunt 'em down.
MSNBC launches free mobile applet
MSNBC.com and Microsoft have teamed up to provide an Action Engine-powered standalone application for mobile devices that allows for quick access to news stories, videos, and photo slideshows without to need to launch a browser. Initially available as a download for a handful of Windows Mobile devices, with support for Java/BREW-enabled phones promised in the coming months, the free applet and corresponding service are ad-supported -- with the first ad spots purchased by, you guessed it, Microsoft. We took the video component through a quick run through on our PPC-6700 (shhh, don't tell Sprint!), and found the viewing experience to be quite pleasant over EV-DO, with smooth frame rates and tinny-but-acceptable audio throughout. That's not to say we'll give up streaming real MSNBC and other unedited content over Orb (again, shhh!), but this mobile app will at least retain a place on our storage card for quick access to headlines and "Today Show" clips.[Via Business Wire]
