Thoughts on SMART myTV

July 24, 2007

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SMART finally launches their mobile TV service in partnership with MediaQuest. The time between now and my Boracay trip last April dictates the several weeks of preparation of the guys from SMART to go live with the service.

The press conference was held ON BOARD the SMART Infinity yacht over wine and caviar as we sailed across Boracay as the sun set. The media guys and gals I was with (I was representing MANUAL) wondered about how this service would actually take off considering that this was indeed a “luxury product.” Though I was pretty impressed that the service would cost less or “compete” than standard cable rates but then again, there was that small item of actually purchasing a myTV compatible phone. At that time it was the Nokia N92, which was also very expensive.

The execs asked what type of channels would we want to see. I didn’t reply, but the business model of pornography on mobile phones crossed my mind – but this won’t be done for obvious reasons. It’s too dirty a business, even though it is SURE to attract a niche market. OK enough.

Is myTV really useful? Well I got to keep a Nokia N92 for the duration of my stay at the beach. I must say that the service does have its perks as there are indeed times when I feel “a created need” to watch the news from my phone. In honesty though, I feel that the hurdle for the consumer isn’t the service, but again the hardware that he or she chooses to buy to avail of the service.

The N92 is a heavyweight, bringing in about 6 hours worth of myTV on a full charge. With over six of these spread across the room, we were able to achieve a simulated “surround sound” of seamless CNN coverage. But can the same be said for the other models due? The N92 has a big screen that can tilt from portrait to landscape mode. Will other phones that support the DVB radio antenna achieve a similar viewing experience? The hardware will definitely spell the difference – from screen size, to battery life.

You can read a more thorough article on the SMART partnership with MediaQuest for the myTV service in the June 2007 issue of MANUAL Magazine.

Geek

Comments

9 responses to “Thoughts on SMART myTV”

July 25, 2007

Skye

Hmm,luxury item it is… But then, Filipinos being Filipinos, I’m sure a lot of people would like to have their hands on one of those phones just to be able to brag about having the novelty of watching news from their cellphone. Although technically, a whole lot of them don’t need it. Some won’t even be interested in the said TV programs. It’s just for show. I’d like to see how the service works and how they deliver the content. Is it clear? No problems with the sound? Stuff like that. My dad would probably buy one just for the heck of it, but I won’t. Truth be told, TV in the Philippines is bordering on trash.

As for the pornographic industry reaching the Philippine media, I’d like to see that. lol
July 26, 2007

Jayvee

skye,

im confident the service will be well received. the quality of audio and video is good as the service uses satellite links to the network, not OTA transmission via EDGE. haha

btw did you get the note for the blogger events?
July 26, 2007

itainteasy

What is your opinion of the SLING box? it has the same type of functionality.
July 26, 2007

itainteasy

I asked Yugatech the same question and he did not know anything about it.
July 26, 2007

Jayvee

i think you’re referring to the slingstream, which is a sub product of the slingbox. The slingstream uses LAN and wireless connectivity so im assuming that this will be a huge add on to your monthly cellphone bill 🙂
July 30, 2007

itainteasy

Javyvee… Did you know you can use your Sling Box and laptop to watch TV? I bet you didnt know that? http://us.slingmedia.com/page/products.html

Read about the Sling Player. Sling Player is good if you have Wifi. Give me your 2 cents. Not what is in your savings but your opinion.
July 30, 2007

Jayvee

@itainteasy:

have you tried it? not too sure about the quality though because it uses wifi. might be choppy?
August 3, 2007

Mobile TV is here « oasis1.online

[…] now known as MyTV. I first caughtÂ a glimpse of this service way back in April when they invited a handful of use to check out this service while it was still in its testing phase. We were amazed back then at how […]
August 6, 2007

naksd

DVB-T should come first.

and those DVB-H enabled cp’s should have tv out ala Nokia N95 or 93. para sulit