Carriers hang up on Sling Media mobile service
by Marc Perton 
posted Feb 27th 2006 at 5:04PM
It seems like a logical extension of Sling Media's popular Slingbox: let viewers watch their home TVs from anywhere on their cellphones, just as the Slingbox already lets them do on their PCs. But Sling has come up against a powerful foe in its quest to bring place-shifting to the small screen: cellular carriers, who are busily cutting deals with networks and other content providers, and don't want to see Sling threaten that income. "We have no immediate plans to run that service," Jeffrey Nelson of Verizon Wireless told Forbes. "What runs on our network are our services." Of course, as more carriers move to 3G platforms like EV-DO and HSDPA, which makes accessing video directly from the internet much more practical, the carriers' official offerings will be less relevant,and Sling -- which has developed a Windows Mobile version of its service -- may well become must-see TV for cellphone users.
Filed under: Multimedia, ATT, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, Windows Mobile
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Frank Gleason @ Feb 27th 2006 5:51PM
www.orb.com F R E E! (ok after you get a tv tuner card)
David Muszynski @ Feb 27th 2006 5:57PM
I know it's not entirely relevant, but the Sony Location Free device is awesome for doing the same thing on your PSP, you just need to be attached to a hotspot with at least 150kbps down.
Andrew Rahimi @ Feb 27th 2006 7:01PM
True - orb is free and I use it on windows mobile devices, but Verizon Wireless intentionally blocked the service (and slingbox too it seems) on my high end Motorola e815. They configured the web browser not to allow video files/playlists to be passed to the media player. As far as I know there's no way around this (and yeah it really sucks because Verizon's offerings just don't cut it)
Xultar @ Feb 27th 2006 7:51PM
Cracks me up. If the carriers can't bleed you dry they aren't satisfied.
There is no carrier that will carry what I want. So I just don't get anything. How about that!
Datum @ Feb 27th 2006 8:54PM
As soon as they invest millions in their data infrastructure and the only business they get is from corporate accounts they'll realize how much they're missing out on, especially among the mobile entertainment crowd. Instead of capitalizing on something that could literally reel in customers they shoot themselves in the foot. Now, you tell me, where's the logic in that? What about all those people that would sign up for an unlimited data plan just so that they could watch 150+ channels on their Pocket Pc or notebook? These carriers will cave in, eventually. They can't keep offering people MobiTV and V-shmastastic and expect to capitalize on such an investment. Bleh....high speed data wasting away.
That's as interesting as watching infomercials in ...get this...High Def.. Wooohooo....now look at the image quality, isn't she a beaute.....ummm what about content....? ahhhh who cares?!
Shell @ Feb 27th 2006 9:02PM
Well, when you think about it, it won't make much difference to us because they'd probably charge a huge chunk a month for it...
flamer's grill @ Feb 27th 2006 10:41PM
Of course verizon is against this. Verizon is against every multimedia convenience for mobile phones that they can't charge you for. Crippled bluetooth, no java support - why deal with all that crap when you can go to Sprint, get great phones that allow you to do anything you want? Sprint has ev-do, sprint has an okay network that allows you to roam onto Verizon's larger network for free, sprint has cheaper data and voice plans.
What are you waiting for?
Justin @ Feb 27th 2006 10:44PM
They may as well offer a heavily discounted Slingbox with the purchase of a high-end handset - by blocking the service, even that small amount of customers that would explicitly want to use a Slingbox are going to go find another carrier.
shure_f00t @ Feb 28th 2006 12:41AM
Just from the title alone, I had a feeling that Verizon and their multimedia Gestapo would be involved. Not surprising, at all!
Can0Spam @ Feb 28th 2006 8:13AM
Yet one more reason to buy unlocked unadulterated phones and give the carriers the offical single finger salute!
Frank Gleason @ Feb 28th 2006 9:35AM
Whoa! 1 for......Sprint? I thought I would NEVER say that! Good to know, I'm waiting for a new PDA (REAL PDA PHONE - 3.5" screen or bigger, I have a HTC FALCON) and would convert to ANYBODY but I guess Verizon is off the list. The screen would go to waste.
Jeremy Toeman @ Mar 2nd 2006 8:32PM
Hi,
I just thought I'd chime in on this topic and add a little clarity here.
While it is true that none of the carriers have announced any plans to explicitly offer the SlingPlayer Mobile Edition software, this does not preclude end-users from downloading it directly. It is certainly conceivable that we will have an offering in conjunction with a mobile carrier down the road, especially considering how the SlingPlayer helps drive consumers to purchase the latest mobile phones and sign up for the larger data services plans. At present, the method for a consumer to get the software will be triggered through a download on the Sling Media Web site, which is consistent with our original distribution plans.
The SlingPlayer Mobile Edition runs on Windows Mobile 5 (and 2003), an open platform for installing third-party applications. It acts no differently than any other network-enabled mobile software, such as Avvenu or Goodlink. This means Slingbox owners can connect to their home Slingbox over WiFi-enabled networks as well as the cellular-based devices.
Best,
Jeremy