AT&T Launching Mobile TV May 4th

Engadget is reporting that AT&T will be launching their Mobile TV service on May 4th. The article features a few details and a video of the tech in action. "You'll find Mobile TV running on LG's new $300 (2-year, after $100 rebate) Vu, one of just two Mobile TV compatible handsets launching on AT&T May 4th — the other being the $200 (2-year, after $100 rebate) Samsung Access. Performance looks reasonably snappy when scrolling through the channel guide although some of the exclusive PIX and CNN Mobile Live content is not yet available. S'ok, AT&T has three more days to throw the big blue switch on the broadcast TV service which includes a $15/month unlimited Mobile TV access plan."

Comments

Curious

[Auckerman]

How often do you stare at your phone? As in look at your phone. I'm sure there's some market for this, but I'm not sure who. Web browsers (quick looking up movie times), email (crackberry, et al.),MP3 players (iPhone), I can understand putting those in a phone. TV? A phone is more of a passive attachment. One you are aware of, but don't have an absolute need to touch for an hour straight without using it as a phone. If you're going to send email or web browse for an hour, you're going to do it from a computer. Watching TV is something that takes more than a couple of minutes.

This is really a solution in search of a problem. I think, in reality, they are shooting for the "cool, I can watch TV" crowd who use it for a month, then stop using it, but never remove it from their plan.

Wow!! I can't wait!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow!! I can't wait to not need this!!

When are the Vu's supposed to be released, so I can hurry up and not buy one? (IDK, I didn't RTFA.)

Seriously, how many people really need/want access to TV 24 hours a day? Like my phone/shitty-camera/shitty-mp3 player/shitty-video recorder/shitty-internet access device, I get the impression this is yet another novelty for me to not use.

Granted, the camera aspect come in handy once every 3-4 months, but you can't take serious photos with it. And I have used the mp3 player on occasion, but not nearly as often as I anticipated.

The video recorder is completely worthless and I have never needed to access the internet with the damn thing. I mean, it's not like I need to watch you-tube videos on the go - come on, let's get serious.

So why does anyone think there is an unfilled market for having 24 hour access to television on a 3" screen?

It sort of reminds me of video-phones. Shit, they invented that decades ago. How many times have they reinvented it since? They never caught on. It doesn't seem like home-consumers even want one. I know I don't.

I'm sure there are some people that could put this to good use, but I hardly think there is a market for it. I'd rather tivo my favorite shows and watch them at my leisure on a normal tv screen with surround sound, than squinting at this shit.

Re:Slingbox?

[crunzh]

Maybe the unlimited dataplan for the cellphone+always on DSL at home.