After years of being talked about, US customers can finally get their hands on proper, high quality, mobile TV through a broadcast system from chip company Qualcomm. But the device it’s launched is not inside a mobile phone, as it was intended all along, but instead, the biggest chip maker in cellular has taken the step of introducing a miniature TV set. The TV service is free for the first six months for anyone that buys the $250 device now, and the offer lasts up until March 31st next year. After that subscription price cuts in, ranging between $9 to $15 for different bundles.
We covered the FLO TV a few months back, but this week it went on sale in Amazon, Best Buy, Radio Shack and some other retailers around the US. The FLO TV can show live local TV from Qualcomm’s almost (but not quite) nationwide broadcast network it has spent the past 4 years and $800 million building. The device can also store content for viewing later.
Originally during 2006 and 2007, Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility had both agreed they would sell FLO handsets which could access the service. To do this they need a special extra radio receiver chip inside and the Qualcomm software which includes a conditional access system. Devices are available from both LG Electronics and Samsung, but neither AT&T nor Verizon has promoted the service very hard and have not reported subscription numbers, despite offering 8 to 10 channels each. We’ve always had the feeling that they have around 100,000 apiece.
At CES in January this year, with new CEO Bill Stone installed (he brought the US the now defunct Amp’d Mobile music MVNO) the Qualcomm owned FLO TV promised it would sell devices which would bypass the cellular operators and go direct to consumers, and this portable TV and a new seat back mounted in-car TV are the first offerings.
“The FLO TV Personal Television is a dedicated device for consumers’ on-the-go lifestyle that is perfect for sharing with friends and family, as well as for personal viewing time,” said Bill Stone, president of FLO TV. “The FLO TV Personal Television is setting the standard for high-quality mobile TV thanks to our award-winning network and technology. It also adds another way for consumers to use the FLO TV service, in addition to a variety of handsets and our recently introduced FLO TV Auto Entertainment system.”
FLO TV is just 3 x 4.4 inches and half an inch thick, weighing 5 ounces, and offers Adult Swim Mobile, CBS Mobile, CNBC, Comedy Central, FOX News, MSNBC, MTV, NBC 2Go and Nickelodeon plus some special events. The device comes with a capacitive touch-screen which accepts gesture controls, and offers five hours of viewing time and 300 hours on standby. It runs Adobe Flash video and has a micro USB port. We think it’s a rather nice toy that could be built for under $100, so wonder why it costs so much.