AT&T launches TV service on new phones, rivaling Verizon

[Charlyee]

By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer
Thu May 1, 4:11 AM ET



NEW YORK - AT&T Inc. is launching its new video service for cell phones Sunday on two phones, and will charge $15 per month for 10 channels.

AT&T Mobile TV is almost identical to Verizon Wireless' V Cast Mobile TV, and is operated by the same company, Qualcomm Inc. AT&T will have two exclusive channels on the service, it said Thursday.

AT&T already has a mobile video service called CV, which is based on different technology. It works like Internet video, providing short clips on demand.

Qualcomm's MediaFLO service is more like regular TV broadcasts, constantly streaming shows on airwaves that run alongside regular cell-phone spectrum. Judging by V Cast Mobile TV, which is available on four phones, the quality is much higher than on-demand cell-phone clips.

The service will be available in 58 markets, including Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.

The only AT&T handsets that will initially work with the service are the ones that are going on sale Sunday: the LG Vu, a touch screen phone for $299.99, and the Samsung Access, a more traditional phone for $199.99. The prices apply with two-year contracts and are after $100 mail-in rebates. Other TV-capable phones will be available later.

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[Ddeere2]

That's pretty lame. I thought they'd have more phones that would be able to watch it on. I also saw on a financial blog that there's " a $30-a-month plan that adds additional features, including Web browsing. This is all on top of the voice and data plans." I know I wouldn't pay this much, I don't need tv wherever I'm at. I can wait till I get home and watch it. All I need my phone for is to call people and use it to tether to my laptop when I don't have an internet connection

[Kalimotxo]

Is there anyone out there that even uses mobile tv? I tried it once... just to see how it worked. Very lame. I don't think this is something that will catch on anytime soon...

[walkguru]

Wirelessly posted (Walkguru's: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98; PalmSource/Palm-D062; Blazer/4.5) 16;320x320)

Is there anyone out there that even uses mobile tv? I tried it once... just to see how it worked. Very lame. I don't think this is something that will catch on anytime soon...

I agree I tried it too. not that great.

[Shizam76]

Forget working on TV.....can you please get 3G up, in the very LEAST...in all the surrounding areas of the major markets?

Nobodys going to be watching it AT&T, if there is no 3G!

[Jay2TheRescue]

Forget working on TV.....can you please get 3G up, in the very LEAST...in all the surrounding areas of the major markets?

Nobodys going to be watching it AT&T, if there is no 3G!

I tried CIngular VIdeo on my old LG CU320, but it was such a crappy phone that could barely hold a connection I just gave up on it. I haven't tried any official AT&T video service on my TIlt, but I have tried other streaming video on the Tilt and it worked fine.

-Jay

[SmArTeStChIlD421]

i've used the Sprint TV on my RAZR to watch some On Demand clips but nothing real time

[M in LA]

So apparently it is the 4th when this starts. Finally a REAL date. I'm curious to see how it compares to the other guys.

[n9upc]

Nobodys going to be watching it at&t, if there is no 3G!

The AT&T and VZW tv service offered by Qualcomm under the name of MediaFlo does NOT run on the 3G network. It runs on it's very own network and the freq it uses is in the UHF TV channel 55 or 56 area.

This is why it is a limited release so as not to cause interference to TV stations that still have until Feb 2009 to leave the freq.

I have played with the VZW one but not the AT&T one. I found the VZW to be somewhat cool as it really just streams shows 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Since it is network based and not local channel based the shows just keep playing and playing.

I think for the fee of $15 or $20 is a little high but I heard a little rumor from a VZW rep that if you signup with a TV equipped phone and activate it you can try it out for like 30 days or so free. Unsure of the AT&T but I would hope or think that it is the same.

[SmArTeStChIlD421]

so the only thing that will make AT&Ts better than VZWs or Sprints is that they will get CNN Mobile exclusively.....and that only makes it better if you like CNN

[M in LA]

so the only thing that will make AT&Ts better than VZWs or Sprints is that they will get CNN Mobile exclusively.....and that only makes it better if you like CNN

Now that AT&T is launching their Mobile TV, they are now on an equal footing with Sprint and Verizon by offering this feature. So they really aren't offering anything new or better than the other two. But I hear what you're saying.

[Eric47]

i think he was just mentioning that they had an exclusive channel. i goto cnn.com a lot but admitedly i dont watch it much. i dont think that they tv service would be for me unless i could watch live football games or something like that.

[momcat1]

Forget working on TV.....can you please get 3G up, in the very LEAST...in all the surrounding areas of the major markets?

Nobodys going to be watching it AT&T, if there is no 3G!

Forget working on 3G, could they ATLEAST get 2G working properly??????

[Shizam76]

Forget working on 3G, could they ATLEAST get 2G working properly??????

momcat....where is 2G not working properly..and what is it not doing?

[Gamer03]

Well according to the map, Mobile TV is in my area. I still prefer to watch my Slingbox Pro (especially if we decided to get the iPhone and Sling Media makes Slingplayer Mobile for the iPhone using the iPhone SDK). I rather watch live TV including our Encore and HBO channels that pay for a limited availability channel selection. Plus I usually have my laptop with me when I travel so that comes in handy watching our Dish Network back home when we are in WiFi enabled areas.