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Mobile Miscellany: week of February 27th, 2012
Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you're like us and really want to know what's going on, then you've come to the right place. This past week, we've seen a major shakeup in the world of mobile payments and we were thoroughly teased by Rogers, which launched a curious pre-order promotion for the Lumia 900. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of February 27th, 2012.
Sprint TV offers free TV shows to iOS customers
Sprint customers with an iPhone can now watch their TV on the go thanks to the new Sprint TV App. Available for free for Sprint customers, the app will let you watch shows from NBC, Disney Channel, ESPN Mobile TV and more. This free package is available to Sprint customers on an unlimited plan, while other premium plans will cost you between US$4.99 and $9.99 per month. You can grab the app from the App Store and read more about the service on Sprint's website. If you're a Sprint customer and give the app a try, let us know what you think in the comments.
Sprint's Fared Adib: we made a conscious decision to scale back bloatware on smartphones
If you've ever wondered what companies take your advice (read: complaints) to heart, here's yet another one that is: Sprint. Recently, HTC received oodles of praise from a minuscule-but-passionate group of folks who appreciate the company's stance on unlocking its bootloaders, and today we learned that folks at The Now Network made a similarly impressive change after hearing yet another enthusiastic sect... our readers. If you'll recall, Sprint's VP of Product Development Fared Adib appeared on the November 2010 episode of The Engadget Show, and it was during that appearance that he heard a rather shrill cry of users begging for a smaller amount of "bloatware," or at the very least, bloatware that users could customize or outright remove. For those unfamiliar with the term, it generally refers to applications that are preloaded onto devices from the carrier; by and large, these clutter up the application grid, and many power users aren't exactly enthralled by any carrier-imposed OS changes. In speaking at length today with Adib during a Sprint campus walkthrough, he confessed that he jetted back from NYC and immediately informed his team that the bloatware needed to go. To quote: "Ben, we've got to get rid of these preloaded apps on our devices. A lot of customers don't want this." You may have noticed a dearth of those very apps on the EVO 3D, and according to Fared, customer feedback on the newly cleaned slate has been overwhelmingly positive. We inquired on whether this approach would be pushed across the company's product spectrum, and he seemed eager to admit that it would. In fact, Sprint's taking quite the different approach internally than some folks may be used to. It's effectively trying to get out of the way in as many areas as possible, and in turn, litter your future phones with as little content as possible. In fact, he's pushing to make whatever programs Sprint does preload user-removable, and it's a mantra we can only hope other carriers latch onto. Nothing against NASCAR, of course, but having the ability to burn rubber in our own way is definitely preferred. P.S. - This slide was just one of many, and is definitely not a comprehensive view of partners and plans. We were specifically informed to not read into it as a solo slide.
Sprint TV broadcasting 30 college bowl games, including entire BCS
Quick: can you name 30 college football bowl games? Well, if you keep your face glued to your Sprint phone's screen for the next couple weeks, you'll be able to, thanks largely to the partnership Sprint inked with ESPN earlier this ear to bring ESPN Mobile TV to its devices. You'll be able to get to the games on your phone through either Sprint TV or the dedicated Sprint Football Live app, which are available on "most" models in Sprint's lineup and cost you nothing as long as you're signed up for unlimited data. Notably, Sprint's broadcasting will include the entire Bowl Championship Series -- and in the off chance you're interested in one of the five bowls that aren't being televised on your phone, the Football Live app will still offer you play-by-play coverage and stats. Follow the break for the full press release.
Sprint picks up ESPN Mobile TV programming
Sprint got punked a bit when Verizon swooped in and scored mobile programming from the NFL, but they were awfully quick to hit back today with the announcement that they've just added ESPN Mobile TV into the Sprint TV mix -- granted, they're just playing catch-up to Verizon's VCAST TV service, but Sprint TV's got considerably wider distribution through the lineup, so this could be perceived as a bigger win. The companies are touting over 100 live events in March and April alone, and more than 800 during 2010 -- enough to ensure that you won't get a thing done as long as you've got your phone (and a spare battery or three) handy. The new channel's available immediately to Sprint TV subscribers.
Pandora, Amazon, other third-party apps demoed on Palm Pre
Dovetailing dreamingly with the company's SDK announcement today, Palm's chosen CTIA to show off a round of third-party apps for the Pre, and the good news is that they're definitely dispelling some doubts we had about the robustness of webOS' development platform and its ability to deliver compelling software. We were emphatically reminded that everything here is strictly for the sake of preview -- it's all beta, just like the Pre itself -- but that being said, it all looked smooth and relatively crash-free (as best as we could gather anyhow without giving it a more ruthless hands-on beating of our own). First off, we saw a NASCAR app, perfect for die-hard fans (but really, even more perfect for Sprint's track record of sponsoring NASCAR events) that culls video highlights, driver profiles, and more. Next, we were treated to a brief look at the Pre's Google Maps implementation, Pandora, Amazon's music store, and FlightView, a trick little flight status app that every frequent traveler will likely want loaded. We also saw a Pre version of the Sprint TV player -- a staple service on most of Sprint's devices -- proving that the Pre has the stones to handle multimedia within its development framework. Video was just a little bit choppy, but they're not making any claims that this is final, optimized code at this point. The best part of the whole demo, perhaps, is Pandora's notification implementation, which brings up a mini-player by tapping on the "P" visible at the bottom of any Pre screen; from here, you can play / pause, rank tracks up and down, and see a full track name, all without leaving the comfort of whatever app you might be in. Try that on an iPhone, eh? Follow the break for video!
Mobile TV popular in the 25-34 male crowd
That chased-after demographic of 25 to 34 year-old males just found a new fan: mobile TV. ComScore states that 46 percent of current mobile TV subscribers in the U.S. are below the age of 35 and 65 percent are male. To us, that's an obvious conclusion from the research company (who supplied the stats). The research firm concluded that younger males are earlier adopters of newer technologies. Umm, yep -- we had our suspicions. Apparently, that same group is responsible for the spread of newer mobile tech, as comScore added "once the early adopters have had a chance to fully engage with the technology and share their experiences with friends, relatives and colleagues, Mobile TV is substantially more likely to reach a critical mass in the marketplace." Cool. Additionally, the top-recognized "brands" in mobile TV were Verizon's VCAST, MobiTV and Modeo. The research also showed that U.S. consumers wanted a high level of quality on a chosen mobile TV service. We're not sure it's there -- yet.
CBS signs on for programming on Sprint TV
Sprint Nextel is further sprucing up its Sprint TV service by adding content from CBS Broadcasting, according to both companies. CBS will provide live mobilecasts, full episodes and video clips from the CBS network. A rundown of the soon-to-be programming on the Sprint TV-capable handset includes the CBS Evening news, clips from hit shows like CSI and Survivor, daily-updated clips from the Late Show with David Letterman and even clips from classics series like The Brady Bunch and I Love Lucy. The goodies CBS will receive in this partnership will allow the network to sell advertising across its programming on the Sprint TV platform. Just fan-bloody-tastic there, Sprint -- can we have a commercial-skipping DVR with that, please?[Via Wirelessinfo.com]
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.
