The Quest for Mobile Media - Part 2

I recently had a chance to use a new service from Verizon called Mobile TV. They currently offer two phones that can use this service, by Samsung and LG. I was able to use LG's VX9400. Basically, Verizon's Mobile TV delivers TV channels to your cell phone. At the time I used it, there were 8 channels available, including CBS, Comedy Central, ESPN, NBC, Fox and Nickelodeon. These are not the same channels you will see if you go to your house TV, they are mobile versions.

Mobile versions? Yuck I thought at first. They are full fledged channels, commercials and everything. There is a lot of repeat programming during the day, but there still is a pretty good variety. This isn't a VOD clip service either, they are full shows. The most surprising part of the service was the quality. The TV shows looked amazing on the LG. The images were bright and shown at 30fps. There is no buffering either, it was very smooth.

Coverage seemed very good too, as we are about 30 minutes from the closest big city. Price was reasonable as well. New channels should be added as time goes on, so maybe we will see a movie channel. According to the literature, live events should also be possible. Overall I am very impressed with the service. Most Verizon stores should have units out on display. For more information about the LG phone, check the link below.

Nokia 770 Internet Tablet

I recently purchased a Nokia 770 Internet Tablet. This is a handy device but can be a little confusing. It is not technically a phone. That means, you can not use it as a replacement for your current phone, as it does not talk to cellphone networks (i.e. Sprint, Verizon). It does have Bluetooth capabilities and 802.11G support for wireless networks. These capabilities allow you to leverage you cellphone and home networks to give the 770 internet access. In the case of cellphones, this would be known as tethering. You should make sure your calling plan supports unlimited data and tethering, otherwise you may receive a nasty bill.

The 770's screen is ~4.7 inches and supports a resolution of 800x480. I was pretty impressed with the quality and brightness of the screen. It is also a touch pad, which works nicely with the included stylus.

The operating system is based off of Linux, so no windows apps here. If you need a windows environment, there is a solution. There is a RDesktop port available at this link. RDesktop will allow you to connect to your windows system and have a desktop on the 770. It works well, although there can be some window sizing issues. VNC is an alternative to RDesktop and there is a client for that too.

There is a lot to talk about with the 770, so I will continue soon.

The 770 is not the latest version from Nokia, that would be the N800. That means the 770's can be had for a good price. You can read reviews and get more info from the Amazon link below, but you can probably find a better price elsewhere.