RCR News is reporting that AT&T is preparing to launch their mobile TV service in early February, with Feb 5 mentioned as a possible launch date. The service will be powered by MediaFLO USA Inc, and is said to feature two exclusive channels of programming.
AT&T is expected to launch the LG Vu CU920 as their first MediaFLO-compatible handset. The Vu is a candybar handset with a full frontal touchscreen, similar in appearance to the LG Prada. Vu was spotted at LG's booth at CES earlier this month, but LG has not disclosed any details regarding the phone, and neither they nor AT&T has commented on launch or pricing details. RCR speculated that the Vu "is expected to be in the $200 to $250 range."
Verizon Wireless has offered their VCast TV service since March of last year, though it is not available in all areas (like the San Francisco Bay Area, where I live). VZW's service currently offers eight live TV channels. SprintTV does work in my neck of the woods, and while the service functions as advertised, I'm personally not sold on mobile TV as a real value-add for consumers. Then again, the deployment of mobile TV networks can also be viewed as a step towards a fully connected media ecosystem in which our home, office, and mobile a/v content is synched and accessible from myriad portable and stationary devices simultaneously. It could well be that wireless carriers are poised to become the ISPs and cable companies of our near-future.
Read the entire article at RCR News from here.