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BitTorrent Comes to Cell Phones

An anonymous reader writes "Finally, a BitTorrent interface for the mobile phone. Dubbed uTorrent mUI, the web user interface allows the end user to control torrent downloads remotely. The interface still lacks the ability to add torrents, however bringing BitTorrent capabilities to the cell phone is a giant step forward."

23 of 101 comments (clear)

  1. Awesome! by Klickoris · · Score: 5, Funny

    Awesome. I've always wanted to download stuff on the go. Porn on the go, here I come.

    1. Re:Awesome! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      > Porn on the go, here I come.

      I don't want to be a spelling Nazi, but it's spelled C-U-M, not C-O-M-E.

    2. Re:Awesome! by crazyvas · · Score: 3, Funny

      So now, you can come on the go.

  2. Pretty Misleading by eldavojohn · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This technology allows the individual to log into their home machine from a remote location and, among many other things, add torrents, pause a download, or discontinue a download. The title of this article is pretty misleading. It looks like they've basically made a webpage for their BitTorrent and then made a special css for a cell phone viewing it.

    Not extremely innovative, I've seen web interfaces for torrent clients.

    Neat? Yes. A good project? Maybe. "Huge step forward?" Not really, in my opinion.

    I question the motives for bringing torrents to cellphones unless you can use other cell phones as download points (hence the name Peer to Peer). That's where the speedup comes from. I think cell phones are pinched at their access point, P2P apps on the phone aren't going to change that, they will even make it worse if both phones are fighting two separate choke points. Not sure if this is well thought out.
    --
    My work here is dung.
    1. Re:Pretty Misleading by Poromenos1 · · Score: 2, Informative

      What a misleading article... I have a BitTorrent client for my mobile phone called SymTorrent (there's also a Gnutella one, Symella). I think it's open source, too, but it only runs on symbian. Still, pretty handy (I don't know for what, but I'm sure it'll prove to be some day!)

      --
      Send email from the afterlife! Write your e-will at Dead Man's Switch.
    2. Re:Pretty Misleading by nonsequitor · · Score: 3, Informative

      As the parent poster pointed out, Azureus has had a remote web interface plugin for a long time. Making it able to be controlled remotely from anything with a browser and net access. How is this news? Wake me when the hacked iPhone has P2P song sharing via WiFi with autodiscovery of peers via ad hoc network magic.

    3. Re:Pretty Misleading by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Wake me when the hacked iPhone has P2P song sharing via WiFi with autodiscovery of peers via ad hoc network magic. No one has whispered softer, sweeter nothings in my ear than you, sir.

      I want to have your abortion.
    4. Re:Pretty Misleading by Jackmn · · Score: 2, Informative

      Is there an OSX client with similar functionality?
      There is an OSX package available for Azureus.
  3. Useless by Umbral+Blot · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This may be the most uselss application I have ever seen promoted on /. It might be useful if your torrent program was extremely limited, but uTorrent already allows you to schedule torrents, change speed automatically when they finish, and to impose speed and total download caps if you need them. These features make the ability to remotely monitor your torrents relatively useless, unless you are interested in obsessing over exactly when one of them finishes. But the rest of us have the ability to leave our computers and let uTorrent intelligently manage things without us, with no remote monitoring capability required.

    1. Re:Useless by posterlogo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Maybe you're right legally, whatever...TV seems like a gray area. There's probably some rule about rebroadcasting. Morally, you can take your high and mighty attitude and shove it. I've paid my $40+ monthly to the cable monopoly. Setting my DVR or getting it off a torrent, I couldn't care less. Whatever points you want to make about it are legal technicalities that yes, could get potentially be troubling. What's more troubling, though, is your attitude, as illustrated by your use of the word "steal". It must be nice to be naive like you and assume everything in the law is about fair and just and therefore anything "most likely illegal" is morally wrong. I guess some people are OK with enabling the MAFIAA companies to buy legislation to screw over the consumers. I don't know where you get off preaching to people here.

  4. Re:Wow... by dextromulous · · Score: 5, Informative

    This is a "remote control" for bittorrent related things running on other computers, not a bittorrent client.

    --
    There are two types of people in the world: those who divide people into two types and those who don't.
  5. Re:Wow... by veganboyjosh · · Score: 2, Interesting

    With all the "who's gonna download crap onto their phone?" posts, this is what occurred to me. Can you use this to schedule/direct torrents to download on another computer? That would be something.

    You know, cos getting in on torrents when their streaming is full force is like getting in at the last second on an ebay auction.

  6. Freed from the Desktop! by greyspectre · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Awesome! Between hosting webservers and downloading torrents, I'll never have to use my desktop again. Does anyone use a cell phone to make a freaking phone call anymore?

    1. Re:Freed from the Desktop! by l33t.g33k · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yes. I call my Skype account with it so I can talk to myself late at night.

      --
      My sig is permanently on strike.
  7. Misleading and over-hyped by Wog · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This would be like setting up a very simple web page to control a nuclear missile silo and proclaiming, "NUCLEAR MISSILES NOW LAUNCHED FROM CELL PHONES!"

    All this is is a remote interface, just like the http interface uTorrent already has. Useful? Now for most, but maybe so for some. The fact that you can't add torrents to it is a major limitation, but if you are out with friends and say "So yeah, I hear it's a great film. We can go back to my place and watch it if it's done. Let's see..." then it's a handy little add-on.

    Not worth a breathless Slashdot story, though.

  8. No it's not by AaronStJ · · Score: 5, Insightful

    > bringing BitTorrent capabilities to the cell phone is a giant step forward.

    No it's not. It's not really that impressive at all. They made a web remote control UI for the existing PC-based program, and then went to the website from their Palm. This has nothing to do with bringing BitTorrent capabilities to the cell phone.

    --
    Stupid like a fox!
  9. This is lame by diablobsb · · Score: 5, Informative

    good cellphones (pda-like) could always do that....

    there are even bittorrent CLIENTS for cellphones....

    check out...
    http://www.adisasta.com/wmTorrent.html

    --
    I for one, welcome our new hot grits... PROFIT!
    1. Re:This is lame by freedumb2000 · · Score: 2, Informative

      There is also Python for Symbian so could imagine BitTornado working there as well.

    2. Re:This is lame by yohanes · · Score: 2, Informative

      A client for Symbian platform also exist. SymTorrent is a full-featured and complete BitTorrent client for Symbian OS 3rd edition http://www.aut.bme.hu/portal/SymTorrent.aspx?lang= en. s This is a free/open source (GPL) program. As a person who blogs about S60 3rd edition freewares, I have tested it, and it works very well.

    3. Re:This is lame by qyiet · · Score: 2, Informative

      Torrent clients arn't restricted to WinCE. I already have a SymTorrent installed on my Nokia N91.

      I must admit I have yet to use it for anything beyond testing, but it's nice to know I could get a "linux distribution" straight to my phone

  10. Great... by suitepotato · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...now the **AA can subpoena my cell phone company.

    --
    If my grammar and spelling are off, I am [distracted/tired/careless] (take your pick)
  11. Thank you for using BitTorrent! by Token_Internet_Girl · · Score: 2

    Text MONEY to 77733 to donate to Bram Cohen! (He doesn't do this for free you know)

    --
    Sure baby, I'll give you my phone number...in Hex
  12. Fwoooosh by empaler · · Score: 3, Funny

    (the sound of a joke, flying over your head)