We weren't too sold on live TV on mobile phones when the feature first launched on Verizon Wireless phones a year ago, but the slim and sexy Samsung Access, which we got to play around with here at the CTIA Wireless mobile phone show, may just sell us on the concept.

Imagine a Samsung BlackJack II with bigger keys and no glitchy Windows Mobile, and you pretty much have the Samsung Access. It's slim enough to slip into your pocket without creating any bulges, but doesn't skimp on features, including stereo Bluetooth, stereo speakers, 3G capability, and Video Share, which lets you do live video conferencing with other Video-Share-enabled AT&T phones.

As we mentioned earlier this week, the Access will also be one of the first phones to run AT&T's new live TV service, which comes off crisp and clear on the 2.5-inch LCD screen. (Alas, the screen quality was not really captured so well on the crappy pic we took with our iPhone, but we couldn't resist the eerie dual-candidate image that was frozen in time when we snapped this.) We briefly tried out AT&T's service, which has a few things we like over the Verizon version, including a tiny screen in the top right corner that keeps the show you're currently tuned in to playing while you search through the attractive and user-friendly guide.

One thing we didn't love, though, at least in this still-not-ready-for-prime-time iteration of AT&T Mobile TV, was the relative slowness of the channel changing. The program titles came up instantaneously as we switched channels, but the actual video took about three to five seconds to appear, which makes channel surfing less than satisfying on this little phone.

Also, what's with the crappy 1.3-megapixel camera? Sorry, but at this point, 1.3 megapixel cameras in phones should just be banned. The grainy pictures (at least when blown up) they take are more or less useless.

Then again, you probably won't be using this service for much more than a live sports game or news, right? Any TV show that's not pressing or in real-time is better watched at home on a big screen.

The Samsung Access should be launching in and around the May launch of AT&T's Mobile TV service.


Related Links:

• AT&T Video Share Launches
• Hype Check: Verizon VCAST Mobile TV
• AT&T to Offer High-Quality Live TV On Cell Phones In May
• Sony to Offer Live Movie Channel On Cell Phones
• CTIA Coverage on Engadget

Live TV has long been promised to mobile phone users but a lack of inspiring content has been one element in the equation that has slowed down adaptation in the United States. Mobile phone users in Asia are already well-accustomed to watching live, digital TV content over their devices and now Sony Pictures Television is hoping that its stable of movies will encourage consumers in America to do the same.

Sony Pictures Television has announced a deal with AT&T and MediaFLO USA to provide movies and other content to the newly announced AT&T MediaFLO TV over a channel that will be called PIX.

Some of the first movies on offer will be hits such as 'Ghostbusters,' 'Philadelphia' and 'Stand By Me.'

Since the content will be broadcast rather than delivered on-demand, the viewing experience will be similar to watching shows on regular TV -- which means the content is on a schedule, so it's possible to miss the beginning of a show if you tune in while its already in progress. Sony isn't worried about this because the company believes most people will have already seen these movies, and the goal is to provide quick entertainment rather than launch new content.

Other channels available over AT&T MediaFLO will be provided by NBC, CBS, ESPN and Nickelodeon, which will present modified versions of their programming (similar to what they already offer for Verizon's VCast TV service, which came out last year).

Sony is also looking to other mobile carriers to develop content channels.

From Reuters and Engadget.


Related Links:

• Hype Check: Verizon VCast Mobile TV
• Disney Launching Cell Phone Service in Japan
• Netflix and LG to Bring Digital Movies to your TV
• It's Video. It's Free. It's For Your Mobile Phone. It's Not YouTube.

Since Americans apparently don't watch enough TV at home, AT&T is busting out its own on-the-go live television service, called, simply enough, "AT&T Mobile TV." Verizon users have had this luxury since last year's VCAST TV, with AT&T just now arriving at the scene.

The MediaFLO-powered service will be available to subscribers in May, on both the LG Vu and the Samsung Access (sorry, no iPhone support yet). Mobile TV will come with two new (as-yet unnamed) channels that are exclusive to AT&T.

Opiate of the masses my ass! (On a toilet seat watching television on a cell phone.)

From Engadget Mobile

Related Links:

• AT&T delays Mobile TV (again)
• AT&T Drops 'Fewest Dropped Calls' Claim
• AT&T CEO Says High-Speed 3G iPhone Coming Next Year

We may file this under the "future watch" category because this development could have a big impact on you in 2009.

Delivering video content to mobile devices in the digital age has been a challenging prospect for broadcasters and consumer electronics makers. LG Electronics and Harris Corporation yesterday announced at the Consumer Electronics Show the development of Mobile-Pedestrian-Handheld TV technology, or MPH, which will make it possible to receive digital TV signals while on the move with properly equipped mobile phones, portable media players, laptop PCs or automobile video systems.

According to Dr. Woo Paik, president and chief technology officer of LG Electronics, MPH will allow people to "watch digital TV anywhere, at any time, at broadcast quality, even (as they move) up to 140 miles per hour."

This development could significantly impact the local broadcast content available to people with mobile devices, which broadcasters are hoping will help bring these consumers back from their other sources of information and entertainment, such as the Internet or mobile phone services that have been steadily siphoning off viewers during the last decade or so.

Successfully delivering a digital broadcast signal to moving devices is difficult, both on the broadcast end and on the receiving end. ATSC digital television -- which was optimized for transmission to fixed receivers -- will be the only high-power broadcast television service in the United States after February 2009, when high-power analog broadcasting ceases. Devices in motion often can't maintain proper reception of the digital signal -- especially at high speeds -- and barriers such as skyscraper "canyons," highway underpasses and natural geographical features often block the signal completely.

In a move destined to give gadget heads with gridiron proclivities a reason to rejoice, Verizon has announced that its V Cast customers will have access to live, full-length NCAA college football bowl games on their cellular phones this season. While the major BCS championship bowls will not be offered, subscribers with V Cast-outfitted phones will be able to view 24 of the less-heralded contests, starting with the Poinsettia Bowl on December 20, which pits Utah versus Navy. BetaNews and the Silicon Alley Insider report that ESPN Mobile TV, CBS Mobile and Fox Mobile will provide live coverage of the games through Qualcomm's MediaFLO mobile broadcast service.

An indication that competition among service providers is in the streaming video sphere, the announcement is also another example of companies trying to outdo each other by offering exclusive, premium content. We also see it as a sign of the times, as consumers clamor for their cell phones to be do-it-all computers rather than relatively simple communication devices. But, alas, that notion is the stuff of a different post, as we leave you with a question: Will you be streaming the Auburn/Clemson Chic-fil-A Bowl or the Georgia Tech versus Fresno State Roady's Humanitarian Bowl?

From Verizon (via BetaNews and Silicon Alley Insider)


Related Links:

• ESPN Games and Shows Now Available on Xbox Live
• Hype Check: Verizon VCast TV
• It's Video. It's Free. It's For Your Mobile Phone. It's Not YouTube.
• Facebook Comes to the Blackberry

Welcome to the first in a series of posts in which we give much-anticipated new gadgets or services a test drive and tell you whether or not they live up to the hype. Today, we set our crticial eyes on Verizon Wireless's VCAST Mobile TV.

What it is: VCAST Mobile TV provides live and continuous TV broadcasts right to your cell phone.

What's on TV: Right now, participating networks include NBC, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, Bravo, Fox, and ESPN. Broadcasts themselves are made-for-mobile feeds that include shows such as CSI, Jericho, 24, The Colbert Report, Law and Order, The Office, and The Simpsons, as well as NCAA baseball, Arena Football, the Summer X Games, and several soaps (Guiding Light, anyone?).

Why it's different: Yes, live TV has been available on cell phones for the past three years from services such as MobiTV, but anyone who's tried out that service knows that its video can be grainy and jumpy (due to slow and over-taxed cell-phone networks). VCAST Mobile TV is uses a new cell-phone chip that picks up TV signals over the airwaves, specifically UHF (for those of you old enough to remember). The result is higher-quality video and the ability to change channels relatively quickly.

Where you can get it: Right now, the service is available in about 22 cities around the country, including Orlando, Dallas, Boston, Seattle, and Las Vegas, but Verizon plans to launch in several other cities in the coming weeks. (We were able to get reception in New York City, where service has not been officially launched).

The phones: Right now, only two phones accept the live TV service. The LG VX9400 is distinctive for its screen that swivels 45-degrees into a widescreen/landscape mode, making the phone look like a "T" (the manufacturer is calling it a "swing bar design"). The more conventional-looking Samsung SCH-u620 is a slider phone with a smaller screen. Both phones have retractable antennas that improve reception.

Price: The service costs $15 a month on top of whatever plan you already have, but if you want the rest of VCAST's offerings (downloadable videos, music, games, and more), you'll pay $25 a month. The LG VX9400 is $199 (after a rebate) with a two-year contract, while the Samsung SCH-u620 is $149 (after a rebate) with a two-year contract.

What we like: We were impressed with the clear and smooth, full-motion-video--absolutely no freeze-ups or lost-picture typical of MobiTV-style cell phone video. The grid-like program guide looks just like the one from the cable company, making changing channels and picking shows a breeze. Also, you can take calls and text messages while watching TV.

What we don't like: Changing channels takes about three seconds--not quite regular TV speed, but almost fast enough to bring back the pre-Tivo glory days of channel surfing. Sometimes, though, with only a half-dozen or so channels, there just wasn't anything on TV we wanted to watch. And though some shows--Today, Late Night with Conan O'Brien--are broadcast at the same time as on regular TV, others, 24 and The Simpsons, were a week old. Unfortunately, taking a call while watching TV means missing out on your TV show (just like back in the day!)

Is it all that? For the most part, Verizon VCAST Mobile TV delivers on its promise: Video quality is high, controls are responsive, and the launch line-up is respectable. And it's perfectly handy for watching programming you might want to watch live--Today, sports--on, say, the morning or evening bus commute. But considering we live in an age of Tivo, DVRs, and downloadable TV from iTunes and others, the appeal of live TV--on your cell phone, home TV, or otherwise--just isn't what it used to be.

When cell phones can save the live TV they're picking up--Tivo-style--then we might be over the moon about VCAST Mobile TV, but right now we can only recommend this service to sports fans and news hounds.