AT&T Announces Mobile TV Service

[SmArTeStChIlD421]

AT&T Announces Mobile TV Service

by Sascha Segan

AT&T announced today that the nation's largest wireless carrier will offer subscribers ten channels of live, mobile TV on at least two new phones starting in May.

AT&T Mobile TV uses Qualcomm's MediaFLO system, which we reviewed last year with two Verizon phones. The MediaFLO system allows for at least 14 channels. AT&T and Verizon will share eight: CBS, Comedy Central, ESPN , FOX, MTV, NBC, NBC News, and Nickelodeon. AT&T will get two exclusive channels of their own, which Verizon customers won't have access to.

Verizon, for its part, added two exclusive channels this week: ESPN Radio and a Latino-focused MTV spinoff, "MTV Tr3s".

MediaFLO channels aren't simulcasts of broadcast TV. Rather, they're rearrangements of the TV schedule to play popular programs several times a day. Late night talk shows pop up during morning commuting hours, for instance, and the NBC channel mixes in both NBC network programs and popular shows from NBC's Bravo cable channel.

Since AT&T uses the exact same mobile TV network as Verizon, we expect quality to be the same (excellent, just like 'regular' TV) and pricing plans to be the same (around $15/month.)

The Samsung Access will be AT&T's more conventional, and presumably more affordable, TV phone. The Access is a small, slim candy-bar phone with a 2.3-inch screen and 1.3-megapixel camera. Like several other Samsung phones on AT&T, it features the Video Share service which lets you beam live video to people you're calling. Using the 850/1900 Mhz 3G bands and quad-band EDGE, it can hit AT&T's high-speed network here in the US and it roams to Europe at lower data speeds.

The LG Vu will offer a higher-end mobile TV experience. That phone is dominated by a 2.8-inch, 240-by-400 touch screen, and it has a 2-megapixel camera and full Web browser. The Vu's interface is very similar to the LG Prada, which has an attractive interface of large, touch-screen icons and which vibrates when you touch a virtual key. To type messages on the touch screen, you can choose between a virtual QWERTY keyboard and a virtual phone keypad with predictive text. Like the Access but unlike the Prada, the Vu hits AT&T's high-speed 3G network and also roams globally on EDGE.

We expect the Vu to get good mobile TV reception because it also has a huge, pull-out TV antenna. That strategy worked well for the LG VX9400, which has the best reception of Verizon's MediaFLO TV phones.

AT&T didn't announce pricing for the phones or service, but we're sure to hear more at next week's CTIA Wireless trade show.

AT&T Announces Mobile TV Service - News and Analysis by PC Magazine

[Mobile Mike]

They're a little late to the game.

How long has it taken them to get this going??? Well over a year.

Who knows if this will even get started as planned. I wouldn't be shocked if they delay it again.

[Eric47]

well ATT already had MobiTV just not live TV.

honestly im not crazy about the idea, i could watch at home on a much bigger screen and pay nothing more than my normal bill. ::shruggs::

[Mobile Mike]

Originally Posted by EricN4707

well ATT already had MobiTV just not live TV.

honestly im not crazy about the idea, i could watch at home on a much bigger screen and pay nothing more than my normal bill. ::shruggs::

Eric, I have to agree with you. There's nothing on regular TV anyway. Why would I want to watch the same crap on Mobile TV? There's a reason the reception towards Mobile TV has been luke-warm. Verizon's VCast TV hasn't done as good as they hoped. Then again, why would most people want to pay $15 to watch 10 or so channels? Not me and apparently a lot of other Verizon customers too.

[scotsboyuk]

Mobile TV isn't, and shouldn't try to be, a replacement for normal television. Rather it is best used in a role of 'boredom busting'. That is, it should be targeted for use in the down time people have e.g. the commute to work. It can also be useful for showing interesting moments from sporting events or for watching the news.

[KA3SGM]

Still based off of Qualcomm's Media-FLO platform, operating in the 700MHz band, which is quite lacking in outdoor coverage, and abysmal indoor coverage.

I have seen locally that Media-Flo is trying to install more transmitter sites, but the process has been slowed by the NIMBY crowd that see anything, including additional antennas on an existing tower as being a harbinger of their own cancerous death.

I'll have to grab a few photos of a live Media-Flo site to post here, typically 2 dishes and a single omni-directional antenna, but as so far, they are trying to get a single Media-Flo site to be able to cover a 15+ mile radius, which does not work well at all, especially on the outer fringes of coverage.

Take Verizon's V-Cast compatible phones, trying to get good reception of a Media-Flo transmitter that is 15 miles away with a simple 3 inch extendable antenna on the phone.

I tried Verizon's V-Cast, and was so disappointed with the reception, that I canceled the service after only 1 week.

I hope AT&T doesn't follow Verizon off of the cliff along with the other Lemmings....

[Mobile Mike]

Originally Posted by scotsboyuk

Mobile TV isn't, and shouldn't try to be, a replacement for normal television. Rather it is best used in a role of 'boredom busting'. That is, it should be targeted for use in the down time people have e.g. the commute to work. It can also be useful for showing interesting moments from sporting events or for watching the news.

I hope no one in their right mind thinks mobile TV is a replacement for normal TV. I certainly never thought so.

[SmArTeStChIlD421]

Originally Posted by scotsboyuk

Mobile TV isn't, and shouldn't try to be, a replacement for normal television. Rather it is best used in a role of 'boredom busting'. That is, it should be targeted for use in the down time people have e.g. the commute to work. It can also be useful for showing interesting moments from sporting events or for watching the news.

.....and i would hope that im not on the same highway as the person who is watching tv on their phone

[scotsboyuk]

Originally Posted by SmArTeStChIlD421

.....and i would hope that im not on the same highway as the person who is watching tv on their phone

A bit of a cultural difference here I think; I was thinking of commuting as it is in Europe where many use public transport to get to work. Mobile telly is ideal for such a situation. I agree with you though, I wouldn't want to be driving beside someone watching TV on their mobile either!

[RadioRaiders]

Originally Posted by SmArTeStChIlD421

.....and i would hope that im not on the same highway as the person who is watching tv on their phone

Why would anyone watch mobile TV on your phone while driving! ....the in-dash DVD players have much bigger screens

[bdot]

Originally Posted by RadioRaiders

Why would anyone watch mobile TV on your phone while driving! ....the in-dash DVD players have much bigger screens

I'm not familiar with all state laws, but in MD it's illegal for a video to be playing in view of the driver while he is operating the vehicle.. ie: visor monitors, in dash DVD, etc... rear TV's are ok but nothing can be in view of the driver. I do agree that Mobile TV is more of a boredom buster, but I'm fine with just a newspaper or my MP3 player.

[scotsboyuk]

I've stopped taking a newspaper, except for the free one on the bus, so I rely on my mobile for all my information when I'm out. I find it handy to eb able to check the news, either via a mobile site like the BBC's or using RSS and if I think a story is interesting I can see if there is a news clip about it I can watch.

[SmArTeStChIlD421]

Originally Posted by bdot

I'm not familiar with all state laws, but in MD it's illegal for a video to be playing in view of the driver while he is operating the vehicle.. ie: visor monitors, in dash DVD, etc... rear TV's are ok but nothing can be in view of the driver. I do agree that Mobile TV is more of a boredom buster, but I'm fine with just a newspaper or my MP3 player.

same here and if i dont have either of those i usually have a handy book

[bdot]

Being a car guy, you'd think I'd be on board for all the monitors in the car, but it's too much flash for me personally. Its hard enough driving with all the bad drivers on the road these days, why complicate it more?