Besides the very real possibility that the average person isn't all that into the idea of watching live television on a screen the size of a few fingernails, there are two totally quantifiable reasons that MediaFLO-based mobile TV services offered on AT&T and Verizon have yet to sell like gangbusters: poor device selection and wallet-busting pricing strategies. It's already been known that FLO looks to solve the first problem by creating accessories that can give more phones access to the signals -- and it turns out they're looking to knock down pricing, too, by bypassing its carrier partners' services and going straight to subscribers. FLO doesn't control how AT&T and Verizon price their services even though it's responsible for the common backbone that powers both of them, and it figures that if it can get service out of the door for under $10 a month on an annual plan, it has a better chance of succeeding than the $15 and higher that's being charged currently. Of course, $10 is still a lot to pay for non-on-demand programming on a really small handful of channels, but it's a step in the right direction.

[Via mocoNews]

FLO had promised that it would waste no time rolling out new markets just as soon as old analog TV spectrum started to free up, and sure enough, that's exactly what they're doing. Verizon -- whose VCAST TV service runs on FLO's backbone -- has officially announced expansion into the San Francisco, Cleveland, and Milwaukee markets, meaning the select few with a VCAST TV-capable phone (read: not the enV Touch) can start enjoying a handful of made-for-mobile boob tube channels in the new regions immediately -- provided they plunk down for the monthly fee ranging from $13 to $25. Just how badly do you wanna see Late Night from the warm glow of your phone, eh?

If we're using availability across AT&T's and Verizon's lineups as a benchmark, we'd venture to guess that FLO isn't doing terribly well -- but be that as it may, the Qualcomm subsidiary is rearing to expand its coverage just as soon as the remainder of the nation's analog television stations go dark on June 12. In fact, they're really, really serious about it: 15 new markets will go live the moment the analog signals turn off, adding Boston, Houston, Miami, and others, while another 24 will tack on by the end of the year. Existing live markets like Chicago and New York will enjoy expanded coverage, too, but the question remains -- where's FLO's meal ticket? More hardware helps, but it might ultimately take a transition to free services before mobile TV takes off.

It should come as no surprise that AT&T would be eager to replace one of its more popular, longer-lasting dumbphone staples with more modern hardware that retains the original's major selling points -- so when we found documentation backing up an earlier rumor that there was a Shine 2 in the works for later this year, we didn't bat an eye. Specs on this one should include a 2.2-inch QVGA display, 2 megapixel fixed focus cam, Bluetooth 2.1, microSD expansion, and 3.6Mbps HSDPA. We've got a tiny picture of this sucker in the gallery below, but it came equipped with a big "TBD" over the top of it (which we removed), so we're skeptical that this is the final ID of the device. Moving on, the "Georgia" -- pictured above -- is a slightly higher-end slider with a 2.8-inch wide QVGA display, accelerometer, 3 megapixel camera, and MediaFLO support. We're actually more curious about the phone that was clipped out of the shot to the left, though; the little snippet you see here is all we have, and we don't have any documentation to suggest whether it's coming to AT&T. Any juicy guesses?

Update: We've had a couple folks point out now that the Shine 2 appears to be a picture of the KF510. Whether the actual device will really be a branded, North American KF510 is unclear (we're still wondering about that "TBD" that had been slapped on there). Thanks, everyone!

It turns out that MediaFLO's US network might not be as close to operating capacity as we'd thought, because AT&T wants to bring you live broadcasts of every single game of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship this month on its Mobile TV system -- and in order to do so, "up to four additional seasonal channels" will spring out of thin air to pick up the load. For non-basketball lovers, it's great news because no other programming will be killed off to accommodate it, and for basketball lovers, it's good news because... well, it's a lot of basketball we're talking about here. The special channels should spring to life on March 19 when the first round of the tournament kicks off.

You can only pimp a pricey, woefully underutilized multimedia network for so long before drawing the conclusion that there's probably something fundamentally wrong with your business model, and indeed, operators around the world have had nothing but trouble attracting subscribers to premium mobile TV services as they've launched over the past few years. The head of the FLO Forum -- the nonprofit group tasked with advocating MediaFLO -- is now acknowledging that mobile TV needs some free, ad-supported content in order to get off the ground (it's just too bad the key players couldn't have figured that out before launching two services in the States), noting that South Korea and Italy have seen some limited success going that route. People like free stuff, but it remains to be seen exactly how Qualcomm and others are going to be able to sell enough advertising space and combine it with enough compelling premium content to get some return on investment; nationwide mobile TV networks don't just build themselves, after all.

We're honestly beginning to wonder: can Qualcomm catch a break? Between the years of fighting with Nokia and the absolutely abysmal MediaFLO adoption rate, we're seriously beginning to consider that a Qualcomm curse isn't too far from the realm of possibility. With the announcement this week that the impending digital TV transition could be pushed from late February to June 12th (though it looks as if the House has halted those plans for now), Qualcomm has begun to wail. In essence, this delay -- should it still go down -- will force the firm to continue paying fees to broadcasters in order for it to have almost immediate access to vacated analog waves as soon as the cutover takes place. The tab? COO Len Lauer says it'll be in the "tens of millions of dollars," and that's not counting lost revenue that it was surely expecting to pick up between March and June. Here's hoping one of those "breaks" finally catches up with it here.

Bill Stone has already had one tough job thrust upon him when he was named CEO of the troubled Amp'd Mobile, and Qualcomm seems to think that he's the guy to handle another pretty difficult task, with the company recently naming him president of FLO TV, not to mention senior vice president of Qualcomm. Stone, who's currently the CEO of mobile software firm Handango, will be replacing Gina Lombardi, who had been heading up Qualcomm's mobile TV initiatives for the past three years, and will apparently be staying on with Qualcomm in some other, unspecified capacity. No word on what the move means for Handango, but Stone will officially be taking the reins at FLO TV on February 2nd.

Qualcomm's MediaFLO tech was originally intended for screens so small that resolution, artifacting, and wholesale crappiness don't really matter, but when you're building out a whole new wireless network for this thing, monetization is a high priority wherever you can find it. To that end, Audiovox is lending a helping hand with a new receiver launching later this year that'll plug into most in-car video systems and deliver MediaFLO programming straight to your back seat, your front seat, or whatever bizarre place (engine compartment, maybe?) you've mounted a display. We weren't terribly impressed with the video quality; generally speaking, DVD is probably the better entertainment option here, but if live shows are a must-have for you, this is just about the only cheap, easy way to roll. We're told 10 to 15 channels will be available at launch -- but unfortunately, Audiovox says that neither AT&T's nor Verizon's exclusive channels will be part of the lineup. Pricing hasn't been announced; if we had to guess, we'd figure on something like $20 per month, so you'd better really desperately need blurry TV when the drive gets boring.

LG's Vu hit and left the spotlight in the blink of an eye earlier this year, but now AT&T's looking to rejuvenate interest in the Mobile TV-enabled handset by bringing it back out in a new wine hue. At least, that's the good word coming from the Boy Genius. Reportedly, the new version (model number 920 versus the old 915) will also boast MediaFLO and a number of assorted bug fixes, and while there's no expected date of arrival mentioned, it should ring up at right around $100 whenever it lands.

It's possible that MediaFLO hasn't read the writing on the wall, but despite the fact that mobile TV isn't being adopted at a wild rate, the Qualcomm subsidiary is still trying to expand. In fact, a recent report states that MediaFLO is looking to serve 108 markets by the end of 2009, up from 62 markets currently. Speaking to where it hopes to pick up traction, Bob Bradley, MediaFLO USA's Senior Director of Content, stated that MediaFLO is "starting to see success in offering both temporary channels and access to live events." Furthermore, the firm is expected to launch three new channels based around original content, and it's hoping to lure in "well-established Hollywood talent to help develop even more original content." We can't say that all of these ideas have fail written all over them or anything, but we still see a steep, steep road ahead for all mobile TV firms looking to gain popularity, MediaFLO included.

Just in time for the run-up to the 2008 Presidential election, MediaFLO has added in a trio of news sources to give you your fix wherever you are. CNBC, MSNBC and FOX News have all been added to the lineup in order to give you varying views on the same topics at hand. Available to Verizon Wireless and AT&T subscribers, the channels will offer simulcast programming in line with what's happening on the tele, though we'd caution you not to watch too much coverage during your morning board meeting.

[Via phonescoop]

Just as we'd envisioned, the Invision candybar (if a phone this stubby can, in fact, be called a candybar) from LG is now a reality for AT&T. The phone becomes just AT&T's third to support its MediaFLO-based Mobile TV service, taking a similar line to Samsung's Access by stuffing a landscape display, 1.3-megapixel camera, and HSDPA into a squarish case that's sure to make minimalists and traditionalists swoon; what's more, it also takes the honor of being AT&T's smallest Mobile TV-equipped handset to date. It's available today for $99.99 with a $50 rebate and two years' worth of commitment -- just be sure to factor the cost of the Mobile TV add-on into your budget.

So, we figure one of two things has happened here: either the Samsung Access has been a solid seller for AT&T, leading the carrier to request a near-clone from competitor LG -- or LG saw the Access and felt compelled to provide a clone of its own volition. Either way, the CB630 Invision is getting to the AT&T Mobile TV fight a little late, because we're actually hearing that the Access is already scheduled for an official sunset (not Sunset) on August 24, along with the Sony Ericsson Z750, Samsung SLM, and the Mobile TV-less version of the LG Vu, the CU915. We're also hearing that it'll launch on August 13 for $99.99 on contract with a $50 rebate, so getcha popcorn ready, people.

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

We wouldn't say they're necessarily crying foul, but Verizon is quick to point out that AT&T used its clout as an Olympic sponsor to secure an exclusive on an Olympic coverage channel for its MediaFLO-based mobile TV network. It's a big deal for Verizon simply because it and AT&T are the only two US carriers to offer such a feature at this point -- but there's probably no use crying over spilled milk, and sure enough, Verizon's busy setting up a video series on its VCAST content deck that'll offer highlights of the Olympic action out of Beijing. AT&T, meanwhile, picks up an exclusive through NBC Olympics 2Go -- so we hope you Vu and Access owners are medley swimming fans.