CES: Live TV Coming to iPhone & iPod touch

CES 2010There should be a lot of great new accessories this week coming from the Consumer Electronics Show so we’re going to try to cover anything worthy of writing about that relates to the iPhone or iPod touch. There’s a big announcement from FLO TV already which brings live TV to the iPhone and iPod Touch. FLO TV runs off of it’s own signal (not HDTV or iPhone carriers) which means an external antenna must be used. And, of course, watching TV on your iPhone would use lots of battery. To solve this FLO TV partnered with Mophie to create a battery back with the antenna installed inside the battery. The downfall to all of this is that FLO TV is a subscription service. There’s rumors of very low pricing options but so far I’ve heard no official monthly fee for iPhone owners. For me, I just use hulu.com to see shows on demand shortly after they air. Now only if that worked on the iPhone…

Press Release

mophie juice pack with FLO TV

LAS VEGAS — January 6, 2010 — FLO TV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM), and mophie today announced they are teaming to create a series of products that will bring live mobile TV to the iPhone and iPod touch platforms.

The products, which are expected to begin shipping in the first half of this year, will bring the award-winning FLO TV mobile TV service to the cutting-edge mophie juice pack, letting consumers view their favorite live entertainment, sports and news from the world’s top entertainment brands on their iPhone and iPod touch.

“We are uniting our vision of advancing mobile TV across a range of devices and platforms with mophie’s unrivaled expertise in designing intelligent cases for Apple users,” said Bill Stone, president of FLO TV. “Together, our solution will be a true live mobile TV product available to iPhone and iPod touch users.”

“mophie’s juice pack line has delivered superior rechargeable external battery life to Apple users,” said Shawn Dougherty, vice president of mophie, designer of the world’s thinnest Apple-certified external battery/protective case and other Apple-certified accessories. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to elevate our intelligent case design through this creative product collaboration and deliver the ultimate mobile television experience for iPhone users.”

The agreement between mophie and FLO TV reflects the growing demand for mobile television and FLO TV’s commitment to bring its award-winning service to any small screen. The new products integrate mophie’s intelligent case design with a built-in FLO TV receiver that allows iPhone and iPod touch users the ability to watch live television at the flip of a switch. Consumers can also utilize the device as back-up battery power in between charges.

Service not available everywhere. Programming subject to change / blackout restrictions. Service subscription required. “Live mobile television” means the FLO TV service transmits channels in real time; no downloading, sideloading or buffering.

About mophie
mophie is an award winning accessory company consistently praised for its creative designs and innovative solutions. mophie was proud to be the first ever “Works With iPhone” certified battery by Apple Inc. Its products can be found in Apple Stores and major retailers worldwide and on www.mophie.com. Follow on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mophielovesyou.

About FLO TV
The FLO TV service combines the best content, an intuitive user interface and a superior multicast network to deliver a true quality TV viewing experience for consumers. FLO TV offers full–length simulcast and time–shifted programming from the world’s best entertainment brands, including ABC, ABC Entertainment, ABC Family, ABC News, ABC Sports, Adult Swim Mobile, CBS, CBS College Sports, CBS News, CNBC, COMEDY CENTRAL, Disney Channel, Disney Channel Original Movies, ESPN, ESPNEWS, ESPN 2, FOX, FOX News Channel, FOX Sports, FUEL TV, MSNBC, MTV, NBC 2Go, NBC News, NBC Sports, nickelodeon, Playhouse Disney and SOAPNet. Based in San Diego, Calif., FLO TV Incorporated is a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated. Further information is available at www.flotv.com

flotv

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Comments

  1. 1st…great post

  2. Yeah…, that’s sounds great and all. But wouldn’t it be better just to do something like a web app or a native app to stream via wifi? That would be much better if your taking the battery life into account. Also, you wouldn’t need extra hardware. They really should just concentrate on a low price subscription service. If they had a plan like Slacker Radio ($30 some bucks annually), I’d be all over it! So, I don’t think this FLO TV thing is gonna go very far. Have they not learned from Sling Box?

    • Live TV is already in the UK streamed over the net. catchuptv.com (a rather misleading name as it is live).

      No time-shifting though – and only a few of the free to air channels that are available.

      Oh, and it’s a free service!

  3. ORB Live + tuner cars in your PC = Live TV streaming from your PC to your iPhone via WiFi/EDGE/3G.

    Oh, and welcome to 2009.

  4. I think this sort of service is a step in the right direction for progressing live streaming on the move. As more companies get on board to this sort of thing, the price will come down, data connections will get better and eventually it’ll become normal to site and watch live TV on the move.

    As devices like the Tablet, Nokia N900 and other large screen mobile devices appear, consumers will start to demand more services to use them with – along with all the netbooks already available.

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