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Samsung's Mobile DTV-enabled Moment hands-on
Samsung's out and about this evening showing off its just-announced Moment with extra Mobile DTV circuitry stuffed in, and if you thought it looked an awful lot like a standard Moment... well, you'd be absolutely right. The only notable change is an articulating, telescoping antenna that screws into the top of the phone -- a sure sign that this device is nothing but a trial unit since we'd assume retail devices would have a sexier way to stow it. Speaking of stowage, what do you do when you're not watching TV? Pop off the antenna, collapse it, and screw it into the attached charm -- "geeky" doesn't even begin to describe it. Anyhow, we got a little video of the modded Moment in action -- unfortunately, Samsung's having reception issues with its private broadcast setup (there's no Mobile DTV network here in Vegas, or anywhere, for that matter) but we were able to see how the UI's going to work and learn a little bit about the system. Guide data will typically be pulled over the TV airwaves, though the company says that it'll be up to the manufacturer and carrier if they want to supplement or replace that with a 3G-based feed; the video was coming down at 416 x 240 and can be shown full-screen on the Moment's AMOLED display. Unlike MediaFLO, it's completely free for users -- and that might be just the kick in the pants mobile TV needs to take hold. Follow the break for our video!
Samsung Moment being trialed with Mobile DTV
You know the old saying -- as LG does, so does Samsung -- so it doesn't come as much of a surprise that Sammy's swinging in today with a ATSC Mobile DTV announcement following LG's a few days ago (of course, it helps that both companies worked were actively working on the technology for a couple years, too). There are some interesting parallels here; LG basically transplanted a boob tube tuner into its Lotus, while Samsung elected to take its Android-powered Moment and retrofit the new circuitry. It's little more than a proof of concept for now, but by the end of the quarter, Sprint and Samsung look to roll out trial units to customers in Baltimore and Washington, DC. Productivity: you're on notice.
