With high speed 3G wireless networks spreading across the U.S., what better use is there for 300 to 500 kbps in your pocket than television? Demonstrated at CES 2005, Idetic's $9.95 per month MobiTV service offers programming from NBC, ABC, FOX, C-SPAN, Discovery Networks and some more specialized channels on muscular cell phones and Pocket PCs using the EV DO standard. (To check coverage in your area, visit EVDO-Coverage.)
Every reviewer comments on the quality of the transmission, although most recommend using headphones rather than tinny mobile phone speakers to get the best effect. That's probably more important while viewing music videos and Chris Matthews' Hardball than standard new programs. To get a full picture, see the service on-line:
> MobiTV's demos of High Speed and Standard phones
> CNBC's SquawkBox review
> FOX Channel 59, Indianapolis
Media snobs will no doubt decry the decline of civilization represented by phone TV, but there are many hours in a day -- in line at the ATM, waiting for a bus, hanging out at the mall, microwaving lunch in the company cafeteria -- that could profitably be filled with video (as long as your battery holds out). The burst of digital camera phones sales and the phone pimping aftermarket for skins holsters and headsets shows that people develop deep personal relationships with this ubiquitous piece of consumer gear. With 80 million cell phones sold per years in the U.S. (550 million worldwide), it's easy to project the rapid deployment of personal TV and a further destruction of peace and quiet in the street.
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