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AT&T promises mobile TV "as early as possible" in 2008
So we know that AT&T slipped its MediaFLO-based mobile TV launch from the end of 2007 out to early '08, but just how "early" are we talking? Well, "as early as possible," to be specific. That rather unhelpful statement is all that's coming out of AT&T for the moment regarding its go-live window for the service, saying that testing is going "very, very well" but that it wanted to take an extra timeout to "make sure the user experience is absolutely optimal." As far as we're concerned, those statements are in conflict with one another -- if they'd planned to launch in '07 and everything's going well, what the heck's the hold up? At any rate, when it does launch, it turns out that we'll be getting essentially the same lineup MediaFLO offers through Verizon's VCAST TV presently, featuring channels from Fox, NBC, ESPN, CBS, and MTV. That rubs us the wrong way considering that AT&T's original press release mentioned its intention to take advantage of advanced MediaFLO capabilities like datacasting and music, so to summarize: less functionality, later than originally expected. Everyone cool?[Via mocoNews]
DVB-SH mobile TV trials to crank up in Italy
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]
Germany, UK, Netherlands unhappy with EU's selection of DVB-H
Despite a recent drive to lock down DVB-H as the European Union's single, unified standard for mobile television, a handful of member nations are starting to fight back. On the surface, arguments within the EU's hallowed chambers appear to center around concerns that DVB-H's selection is arbitrary (and when we say "arbitrary" we mean "heavily backed by Europe's own Nokia") and that the powers that be should let the market shake itself out; in reality, though, a large bit of the contention likely has to do with the fact that Germany, the UK, and others have all already kicked off systems using the rival DMB standard. The EU wants to see mobile television blessed with the same overwhelming standardization that blessed GSM back in the day -- preferably in time for next year's soccer and Olympic games -- but we've gotta feel for the companies and countries that have already invested heavily in other networks, too. MediaFLO, what say you?[Via mocoNews]
DT501HS PC Card handles DVB-H and HSDPA
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]
Say goodbye to productivity, Kenya: Nairobi gets DVB-H
Thanks to South Africa's DMTV Limited, Kenya this week became just the seventh country in the world to launch a commercial mobile TV service based on DVB-H, Europe's standard of choice (and a standard we might eventually enjoy in the US if MediaFLO doesn't snuff it out). Launch channels include mega-hits like Africa Magic, Africa Big Brother, and SuperSport Update, with a grand total of 10 stations at launch running 1,000 Kenyan shillings (about $15) a month. DMTV has committed to rolling out the service to all of Kenya's carriers, though it seems that coverage is limited to Nairobi at the moment.[Via mocoNews]
AT&T pushes MediaFLO launch out to early '08
Whoa, a carrier slipping a deadline for a major new feature? How very unusual! AT&T is the unlucky subject of our wrath here on news that it has opted to move its MediaFLO-based mobile TV launch from the second half of '07 to the "very early part of 2008." The company's being a little shifty about the reasons for the move but has vaguely chalked it up to fine-tuning of the service -- lingo we interpret as "it doesn't work yet." With Verizon having launched its VCAST TV service in the early months of this year -- a service that also happens to be based on Qualcomm's MediaFLO tech -- AT&T looks to come dangerously close to missing Verizon's mark by a full year, a fate eerily similar the one met by its 3G launch. Of course, with the LG Vu looking lined up to be one of AT&T's launch handsets for the service, it all might just be worth the wait. Maybe.[Thanks, Fernando]
Deutsche Telekom scores Germany's DVB-H spectrum -- all of it
Germany wasted no time doling out licenses -- or license, in this case -- for its DVB-H airwaves following the EU's decision to standardize on the technology for mobile TV. Deutsche Telekom's T-Systems unit is the lucky recipient, a logical move considering that the company has apparently had a DVB-H trial running in Berlin since 2005. The build-out is expected to start in early '08, with all of Germany's state capitals getting the hookup by year end; the remainder of the country's going to take a good long while, though, with 90 percent of the populace getting covered by 2015 (geez, how do we know DVB-H is even going to be relevant by then?). It apparently hasn't been decided yet who's going to be building the network, but... well, something tells us T-Systems is going to play a role in there somewhere.[Via mocoNews]
Garmin, TomTom, Mitac consider adding mobile TV to nav units
While they'd hardly be treading new territory, DigiTmes is reporting that GPS bigwigs Garmin, TomTom, and Mitac are all considering adding mobile TV functionality to their navigation units, an area they've previously shied away from. According to DigiTimes, some unspecified manufacturers say that by simply using their devices for plain-old navigation, customers are "unable to fully utilize their PNDs," and that adding mobile TV would "bring about a new selling point." While that remains to be seen, at least some folks seem to be big on the idea , with "sources at chipmakers" describing the potentially-upgraded navigation units as a "key device for future mobile TV deployment."
Motorola Z6tv gets detailed and priced by Verizon
After having been through the indignity of an outing by the FCC, a roadmap slip, and subsequent roadmap correction, the Motorola Z6tv finally looks good to go. Verizon has let it slip that the handset will land for $279 on one-year agreement and $229 with two-year -- both feature $50 mail in rebates, to boot. So, there ya have it, look for this handset to be in your local bricks and mortar in the coming weeks, if not sooner. Oh, and hit the read link to pop on over to the Verizon site where all the nitty gritty details are posted for your geeky pleasure. [Via phoneArena]
Intel looking to delve into HDTV, mobile market
As the news continues to flow from Intel's Developer Forum, we're now hearing that the chip maker could make "surprise moves into consumer electronics chips." More specifically, it seems that the outfit is looking to "roll out a system-on-a-chip code-named Canmore aimed at HDTVs and other products," as well as Silverthorne, which would apparently be reserved for handheld devices. 'Course, Intel has dabbled in these areas without notable success in the past, but analysts are suggesting that gaining traction this time around "could be big" for the firm. Ah Intel, why the tease?
Sprint BlackBerry Pearl to support Sprint TV?
It appears that Sprint has let the bag again and allowing some clever readers to comb through the same spec sheet. It looks like Sprint will launch the BlackBerry 8130 supporting both their Mobile TV and Music Store services. Nothing sounds more enticing than streaming audio and video via EV-DO on our BlackBerry. Now only if Sprint can get their mobile TV offerings in line with VCAST TV or maybe Verizon will follow suit and enable another Smartphone for their music service.[Via Boy Genius Report]
Clearwire, ICO hook up for US DVB-H trial
MediaFLO's clearly the overwhelming favorite in the nascent (or is that nonexistent?) US mobile TV market, having already bagged two of the four national carriers while the other two -- Sprint and T-Mobile -- spin their wheels in trials. On the other side of the fence, though, lies DVB-H, the Europe-wide standard that has inexplicably found virtually zero carrier love in States despite broad manufacturer support. Presently, the US' meager DVB-H efforts are represented by Hiwire's trials alone now that Modeo's slipped its mortal coil and gone to that Big HTC Foreseer in the Sky; that could be about to change, though, with ICO and Clearwire announcing that they'll be bringing a DVB-H trials Raleigh, North Carolina and Las Vegas early next year. Two DVB-H supporters is clearly better than one in the effort to better balance the Qualcomm juggernaut here, but we still need a carrier deal or two to lock it all up. Best of luck, fellas.
WhereverTV wants 1,200-channel piece of the mobile TV pie
Kinda makes MediaFLO, DVB-H, and the lot all seem like child's play, does it not? 'Course, the proof is in the pudding -- but startup WhereverTV is promising an honest-to-goodness four figures worth of channels delivered to 3G handsets by year's end. PCs eat first (the beta's running now, actually), followed in October by TVs powered by special set-top poxes, but the concept remains the same: pipe stations from around the world over the 'net and pay the bills with ads, meaning users won't pay a red cent for subscriptions out of the gate. Unlike services that have tried this model before and ended up dying slow, painful deaths in the court system, WhereverTV has deals in place for everything that it's planning to broadcast, so it's on considerably more stable legal footing. The company's primarily looking to target ex-pats in the US, but until we find ourselves a cable service that's gonna give us 1,200 channels to Sling, we think it may have a few native users on its hands, too.[Via picturephoning.com]
Qualcomm looking to push MediaFLO in Taiwan with joint venture
DigiTimes is reporting that Qualcomm has openly expressed interest this month in setting up a joint venture in Taiwan to get the ball rolling on MediaFLO there. Having bagged two of four national carriers in the US (with the distinct possibility of bagging one or two more still in the cards), Qualcomm appears to be turning its attention to distant lands. As DigiTimes points out, the company has already set up a joint venture with Japan's KDDI (a CDMA carrier, unsurprisingly) to push its proprietary mobile TV tech in that country, so it seems like similar ventures elsewhere are a foregone conclusion. Noting that a joint venture could be either "financial or technological," Qualcomm already runs a MediaFLO-based trial in Taiwan that kicked off earlier this year, so we figure that it may be looking to get an infusion of local cash to take the service commercial -- especially considering that it'll be going up against a handful of recently-awarded DVB-H licenses in the country.[Via mocoNews]
Crown Castle leases Modeo's airwaves
With AT&T and Verizon both selecting MediaFLO for their mobile TV needs, T-Mobile unable to make up its mind, and Sprint backing off, hopes seem to be fading that DVB-H-based Modeo will secure a deal with one of the national carriers here -- and accordingly, parent Crown Castle is looking to stem its losses. The company has announced that it has leased Modeo's bandwidth -- you know, the stuff it needs to actually offer a mobile TV service -- to two venture capital firms for $13 million a year, with an option to renew the lease for another 10 years or acquire the spectrum outright in 2013. How the firms intend to use their new found airwaves remains unknown, but unless Hiwire stays in this thing, there's a very real possibility that Qualcomm's going to be running unopposed in the mobile entertainment race this side of the pond.
Aigo's DT5200 PMP handles DAB TV
The DT5200 may be a far cry from the Patriot UMPC, but Aigo's latest portable media player is still rockin' a decent array of specs for its size. This less-than-stylish device gets the message across with a 4.3-inch 480 x 272 resolution display, and features a two-megapixel camera, SD expansion slot, rechargeable Li-ion, USB 2.0 connectivity, and an integrated DAB TV tuner to boot. Users can expect the unit to play nice with H.264, AAC, MP3, JPEG, and MPEG4 files, and the video out feature means that you won't be forced to strain those retinas if a larger set is nearby. No word on price just yet, but we're sure these will be all over Chinese shelves real soon.[Via PMPToday]
EU finalizes official selection of DVB-H for mobile TV
As if it wasn't official enough already, the European Union has put its final stamp of approval on DVB-H -- already Europe's most prevalent mobile TV standard -- and has started asking countries and companies to help it enforce the ruling. As the EU's telecom commish points out, Europe is now to DVB-H what it did to GSM years ago, pushing an open, homegrown solution at a time when others (MediaFLO, hint hint) are trying to make inroads, so "wait-and-see is not an option." Of course, other motivating factors to get this fleshed out now are the Beijing Olympics and the European Football Championship, both events that many Europeans would probably like to have the option of catching on their phones. How exactly this all dovetails with the EU's recent DMB efforts in China remains unclear, but hey, at least they've set a course.[Via mocoNews]
Hiwire boasts about Vegas trial's 24 channels
It's been a few months since we've heard anything about these guys, but it seems that Hiwire is still going full throttle in its efforts to compete with Modeo and the MediaFLO juggernaut to win the hearts and minds of American mobile TV watchers-to-be. Following a joint trial with T-Mobile late last year, Hiwire's back for more action in Sin City (sans carrier this time, it seems) rocking a full 24-channel lineup on its swath of 700MHz bandwidth, besting Verizon's MediaFLO-based offering by a healthy sixteen. There's still no word on when -- if ever -- Hiwire's going to go commercial with this thing, but it's good to hear they're still kicking around nonetheless.
LG, Samsung handsets on top in entertainment phone study
Although the necessity (or desire, actually) for integrated mobile entertainment in one's phone has long been argued over, we can't help but notice that the fad is ever-so-methodically catching on. Recently, a consumer study from Parks Associates found that LG and Samsung handsets led the way in "advanced mobile entertainment features," noting that their cellphones were more likely to support mobile TV, music, and games in the US. More specifically, nearly 12-percent of LG / Samsung owners reported having the aforementioned features, while just eight-percent of Moto users checked the box and nary a single Nokia respondent claimed to have such luxuries. Hmm, we're guessing the N95 owners were all too preoccupied to represent?[Via mocoNews]
Select ABC stations offering free video for mobiles
Sure, we've seen the local-news-on-your-handset card pulled out before, but unlike similar alternatives, this one should work with any network and on any phone capable of handling the video. A group of ten ABC-owned television stations have announced that they will be offering up "free video content" for cellphones, most of which will consist of ad-supported streaming news clips. The service will be powered by Local Wireless, and will be available to users near WABC-TV in New York, KABC-TV in Los Angeles, WLS-TV in Chicago, WPVI-TV in Philadelphia, KGO-TV in San Francisco, KTRK-TV in Houston, WTVD in Raleigh-Durham, NC, KFSN-TV in Fresno, California, WJRT-TV in Flint, Michigan, and WTVG in Toledo, Ohio. You know the drill: give it a go, and post your adoration / gripes below.[Via Textually]