AT&T’s new U-Verse Mobile app, officially rolled out for iPhone and BlackBerry Torch owners this week. It lets you download shows to watch on your device or set your DVR to record them. It requires a Wi-Fi connection and AT&T’s U-verse service.
You can select from ten networks, including ABC, ESPN, Disney, Discovery Channel, and more. Shows will typically become available four to seven days after originally airing, and will expire in two to three weeks depending on the content provider. More networks and shows will be added over time.
Here’s Seth the blogger guy from AT&T explaining the new app.
The U-Verse Mobile app is currently available only to iPhone owners and soon to BlackBerry Torch owners. No iPad or Android yet, although AT&T says that they’re working on it. U-Verse Mobile is free — if you’re a U-Verse customer.
AT&T’s U-Verse primarily uses high speed DSL lines to bring cable television home – with a triple play – Voice, Data and Television available. AT&T says it’s available to 20 million residences in 22 states. AT&T uses twisted pair to deliver its U-verse television product to over 2.5 million subs — at less cost than fiber. Competitor Verizon FiOS had 2 million TV subs at the end of 2009.
U-verse Mobile replaces the Mobile Remote Access for iPhone app, incorporating the ability to browse the U-verse TV program guide, view program descriptions, schedule and manage your DVR recordings. The new App adds the ability to download available episodes over any Wi-Fi connection, and watch them on your iPhone.
Competitor Hulu is a joint venture of NBC Universal (Comcast), Fox (News Corp) and ABC (The Walt Disney Company). It also provides web syndication and packaging for other websites including AOL, MSN, MySpace, Facebook, Yahoo!, and Comcast’s fancast.com. The ad-supported basic service is free. Hulu Plus, a $10/month video package, provides every single episode of the current season online, not just a handful of trailing episodes.
Meanwhile Netflix will compete with the big cable guys, with access to all the movies that Epix makes available to its pay TV distributors. While the broadband content won’t be available until 90 days after it hits the pay TV window, it’s shorter than Netflix would normally have to wait to stream content.
Netflix movies from the deal will begin streaming on September 1 and include movies from Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM. Netflix will pay Epix close to $1 billion in licensing fees over the life of the deal. With Netflix, a subscription to Comcast, AT&T or Verizon broadband is not required. The $9.95/month Netflix subscription service can use any broadband connection.
The United States “has become ground zero for mobile broadband consumption and data traffic management evolution,” says Chetan Sharma Consulting.
Revenues from mobile data in the United States increased 22% over last year. Video on tablets is likely to create a huge increase in data traffic over the next few years.
The Hanvon Windows 7 slate shown here is presumably one of the many Windows 7 tablets Microsoft expects by year’s end. The Windows tablet appears competitive with the iPad while including a camera, USB, SD card slot, and track pad.
Datamonitor says smartphone sales will triple between 2009 and 2013, from 185 million units to 451 million units, Netbook shipments will quadruple and Tablets and e-readers will grow nearly tenfold in the 2009-2013 timeframe.
About 66 percent of U.S. adults now subscribe to broadband at home, compared to 63 percent in 2009, according to the Pew Research Center.
Google TV is coming to a living room near you. Same deal with a rumored $99 Apple iTV set-top-box. It will basically be like an iPod Touch, without the screen and with an HDMI output. iTV will be co-launched with an iTunes app providing TV shows for 99 cents. Watch for them on broadband.
