Watching Television On My Cellphone for Free - Making a Happy Birthday

Picture - in the background is our living room television. In the foreground I am holding my iPhone cell phone - watching the same program as the home TV.


Nothing is more fun that getting a new gadget. For my birthday - Lulu got me a neat little computer program or "App" as Apple likes to call them. It is called Slingplayer Mobile. With this program - I am able to watch television programs while traveling - walking - riding - or sitting in a hotel room. The best part of it is - there is no clock running - no charge for the service - no paying for time.

If you remember back a few years - you will see the story I wrote about a device called the Slingbox. It is hooked to your television system at home and also our cable Internet modem.  With this system one can watch their home TV anywhere in the world - as long as you have an Internet connection. While sitting in our apartment in London - we were able to watch TV shows from America. Since our television at home has a DVR (digital video recorder) - we can control what programs to watch and record from our computer on the Internet.

Slingplayer Mobile takes it one step further. With this App on your iPhone - you can watch your home television from anywhere in the world where you can get a wifi wireless signal.

The picture quality is excellent for a 4 inch screen - the sound is good through the small speakers - but using earphones it is stereo quality. There is a delay of maybe 3 seconds when comparing the TV screen at home and the iPhone screen.

This App only works on a Wifi network right now - but some folks are saying that they have gotten it working on the ATT 3G network with some magic. I am guessing if you use it over the ATT network - you would be using your cell phone minutes.

The Slingbox device on our TV at home cost around $100. The Slingbox Mobile App cost $30.

The only difference between men and boys - is the price of their toys. Isn't it great when folks give you presents that you like rather than presents they want you to like?

2/16/10 - Apple has agreed to allow iPhone's with Sling Player Mobile on them to watch television using the G3 phone network. Now you can choose watching your iphone TV using either wifi or G3. I downloaded the free update - and must admit tht I can't tell the difference between the two. On future trip in the car going down the interstate - it will be interesting to see how the network flips the TV signal from tower to tower. If you are a TV or news junkie - it is a neat feeling knowing you have not only a phone in your pocket - but a TV too. I wonder how it will affect my battery life?