When you are on the go, you can literally take your TV with you. Get ready for TV on mobile phones, one of the next frontiers for the gadget formerly known as the cell phone.
With your cell phone you can now enjoy America's longest running TV comedy. Saturday Night Live has gone mobile, providing AT&T Wireless customers with content by phone, including video clips from classic and current episodes, and original material tailored for the mobile screen.
AT&T Wireless customers can also purchase and download SNL-themed ringtones and graphics from current and classic seasons.
To access ATT&T Wireless Video, consumers need a 3G phone and the A&TT Wireless CV MEdia package.
TV on mobile phones is closer than you think. It's coming to a cell phone near you. Sprint customers already get their laughs on demand, with access to video segments from "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" via their Sprint Power Vision phones, as part of Sprint TV service.
Fans of the top-rated late-night show can instantly access the best of Jay's previous night's monologues and favorite "Tonight Show" comedy sketches such as "Jaywalking," "Headlines" and "The Fruitcake Lady."
NBC Mobile produces two- to four-minute short-form programs daily, including breaking news, original newscasts, original features and in-depth stories produced for TV on mobile phones.
"Sprint TV offers 30 channels of live and exclusive streaming news, sports and entertainment programming," said Dale Knoop, general manager of multimedia services for Sprint.
UK's first TV-on-the-mobile service, Orange TV offers about 16 channels allowing users to access a combination of live and made-for-mobile programs.
Viewing statistics from last summer show American news giant CNN as one of the most watched channels on Orange TV. Where and when do people watch TV on mobile phones? Based on Orange TV statistics for July 2005:
During work breaks (36.1%)
While travelling (18.5%)
Waiting for friends or in a queue (12.6%)
At home (10.1%)
Orange TV customers with TV-compatible handsets can download the Orange TV application from Orange World and access it for free for seven days, as part of the Orange Try-Before-You-Buy TV offer. Orange TV is available to both contract and Pay-As-You-Go customers.
MobiTV has introduced MobiTV2, its next generation of live TV on mobile phones and MobiRadio, a new radio service with more than 50 channels of commercial-free digital music.
The new platform for the latest mobile phones and high-speed wireless networks, offers carriers a unified interface for the seamless delivery of all types of digital content.
"We live in an on-the-go world where consumer demand for digital media is skyrocketing. MobiTV2 transforms your mobile phone into a portable entertainment center," said MobiTV CEO and Co-founder, Phillip Alvelda.
With more than 500,000 subscribers, the Emmy award winning MobiTV service is available in the U.S., Canada and the UK.
The service offers many popular TV channels from content providers such as MSNBC, ABC News Now, Fox Sports, ESPN 3GTV, NBC Mobile, CNBC, The Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, The Weather Channel, Comedy Time, California Music Channel, Major League Baseball and others including country-specific channels outside the U.S.
Continuing to introduce TV-ready phones [Nokia Launches Mobile TV Phone], Nokia has been conducting several mobile TV pilots. Results from one of the first commercial mobile TV pilots with 500 users in Finland reveal the popularity and willingness to pay for mobile TV services.
More than half (58%) of pilot participants believed broadcast mobile TV services would be popular, and 41% are willing to purchase mobile TV services. The users in the pilot accessed mobile TV with the Nokia 7710 smartphone and DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcast - Handset) technology.
Pilot participants not only wanted to watch familiar program offerings, but they welcome mobile TV content suitable for short and occasional viewing.
In general, participants spent about 20 minutes a day watching mobile TV. More active users watched between 30 to 40 minutes per session.
Watching TV on mobile phones was most popular while traveling on public transport - to relax or to keep up to date with the latest news. It also proved popular at home for entertainment and complementing the primary home TV.
![Jay Leno, with instruction from racing driver David Donohue (left), set three speed records in this Carrera GT car last September. [Courtesy PRNewsFoto]](http://www.info4cellphones.com/images/leno.jpg)
