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MobiTV expands to Windows Mobile

Consumers of the TV broadcast service can now use devices that run Microsoft's OS for cell phones and handhelds.

Candace Lombardi
In a software-driven world, it's easy to forget about the nuts and bolts. Whether it's cars, robots, personal gadgetry or industrial machines, Candace Lombardi examines the moving parts that keep our world rotating. A journalist who divides her time between the United States and the United Kingdom, Lombardi has written about technology for the sites of The New York Times, CNET, USA Today, MSN, ZDNet, Silicon.com, and GameSpot. She is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not a current employee of CNET.
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Candace Lombardi
2 min read
MobiTV, a mobile TV service provider, has expanded its software to include devices that run Windows Mobile 5.0, Microsoft's operating system for cell phones and handhelds.

The service for Windows Mobile gadgets, announced Thursday, costs $9.99 a month, in addition to the cost of an unlimited monthly data service from the consumer's cell phone provider. MobiTV is a TV broadcast service that lets cell phone and smart phone owners watch live television, as well as on-demand content, in full-screen format.

People can subscribe to the service through MobiTV's Web site and download the software directly from their phones. The Windows Mobile 5.0 version is also available via Handango.

MobiTV is currently available in the U.S. to Alltel, Cingular Wireless and Sprint Nextel customers, as well as Verizon International users in Puerto Rico. In May, MobiTV also made a deal with AT&T to offer its services via laptops over the AT&T Wi-Fi network. While the channel lineup can vary from carrier to carrier, generally MobiTV offers most of the big players: ABC News Now, CNBC, CNN, Fox News, ESPN 3GTV, MSNBC and NBC Mobile.

MobiTV now includes compatibility for smart phones such as the Palm Treo 700p, Treo 650 and Treo 600, the Sprint 6700 and the Motorola Q. The service is also available for compatible cell phones.

In 2005, 1.1 million people in the U.S. purchased mobile video content. That number is expected to grow to more than 30 million people by 2010, according to research firm In-Stat.

As it stands now, there are multiple technology standards for broadcasting mobile TV. The main ones include: DVB-H used by Modeo, a spectrum band technology used by IPWireless, and Qualcomm technology used by MediaFlo. MobiTV supports multiple networks and hardware systems.