Summer road trip must-have: Mobile TV from AT&T

by Annie Scott on

There are more and more things you can do on your phone.

My purse keeps getting lighter — I can access my Google Calendar from my mobile phone, with the use of a memory card I can record audio interviews or even make videos, and some cell phone cameras are already as good as the best cameras we could get just a couple years ago (like the Samsung Memoir). I am always a fan of technology being used to lighten our loads.

Well here’s a new addition to the world of the all-in-one device: Mobile TV from AT&T. This is a must-have for summer road trips, as now you can watch TV wherever there’s reception across the country. Yep, from the car.

Now, some of you have been using the internet or portable DVD players from the car already, but with this service, you don’t have to plan your entertainment ahead, and you don’t have to get out another device — the TV is your phone, and anywhere you could be making a phone call, you can also be tuning in.

What kind of TV can you get? Full length programs from CBS, Comedy Central, FOX, NBC, MTV, Nickelodeon, and live games on ESPN, to name a few. The channel browser looks just like the one you probably have at home; the grid where you scroll and select programs.

The service is available on AT&T’s LG Vu, Samsung Eternity, Samsung Access, and LG Invision, and you can get it either for $15 per month (unlimited), or along with unlimited data access (e-mail and web browsing) for $30 per month.

We certainly don’t recommend watching the morning news in traffic on your daily commute (though surely some fool will), but for the passenger on a long drive? This is an awesome service. Also, we hardly need to mention that this is airport and any-kind-of-waiting-room gold. Even in a bar where they’re not showing the game you want to see, AT&T’s Mobile TV service is gonna rock.

For more info, check out the FAQ here.

Gadling previews Locked Up Abroad, Season 3

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Just last year, Gadling brought you a first look at a new show on the National Geographic Channel called Locked Up Abroad. The show profiles the harrowing true stories of foreigners who have been arrested or kidnapped while abroad, telling the stories with first person interviews with the victims.

A new season of Locked Up Abroad kicks off on April 1st at 10pm, and Gadling recently had a chance to preview the first episode of the new season. Much like seasons past, it makes for some of the most intense, high-drama television you’ll find anywhere on the dial. The inaugural episode kicks off in Peru, with Locked Up Abroad Cuzco.

Sarah and Simon are fast friends from the UK, agreeing to head to Peru for week of fun and relaxation. But little does Simon know that he’s being conned by his friend Sarah. Sarah is in deep with a loan shark and has agreed to smuggle cocaine back to Europe in exchange for the payoff of her debts. In one of the more callous displays of human deceit ever on television, she invites her friend Simon to come along without telling him anything about the drugs. Things get ugly when the two are apprehended at the airport. Despite total innocence to the whole smuggling plan Simon spent over a year in a horrific Peruvian prison trying to clear his name.

Don’t get me wrong, Locked Up Abroad can be tough to watch. These are certainly emotionally charged stories of individuals forced into bad situations. But much like a train wreck, it can be hard to turn away. You simply want to know how things turn out.

Definitely tune in for the first episode next Wednesday and keep watching Gadling for the latest Locked Up Abroad news.

Daily deal – Sling Media Slingbox Solo for $140

by Scott Carmichael on

In my daily deal for today, you’ll be able to pick up one of the items we selected as the best travel technology products of 2008.

The Slingbox Solo allows you to remotely watch TV, anywhere in the world, using your computer or smartphone. The device hooks up to your home TV setup, through a cable box, DVR or directly to your cable/antenna signal, and streams the signal over the Internet.

Imagine being stuck in a rural hotel for a week with nothing but 4 local channels. Simply open your laptop and connect to your home Slingbox. You are now in full control of what you watch, and you’ll even be able to use the virtual remote control to change channels, or start programming on your TiVo.

I’ve been a huge Slingbox fan for ages, and highly recommend it for anyone who travels more than a couple of days a year.

The Slingbox Solo normally retails for $179, but if you purchase it from Buy.com through Amazon, you’ll be able to pick one up for just $139.99, that even comes with free shipping. When you get to the Amazon page, be sure to select Buy.com as the seller in order to get the low price.

Included in the box are the cables you’ll need to connect the box to your signal, as well as a special infra-red cable for remotely controlling your video source.

Hawaii goes digital early for an endangered bird

by Brenda Yun on

While Hawaii tends to be behind the trend when it comes to technological advances, the state’s digital TV initiative is ahead of the curve, thanks to an endangered bird. The Hawaiian dark-rumped petrel, a volcano-dwelling bird that makes its home on the slopes of Maui’s Haleakala, is quickly approaching its nesting season, which prompted rangers to request an early analog to digital TV conversion date so that analog transmission towers can be taken down.

On Thursday, January 15 all analog-based televisions on Hawaii were deactivated and now require digital converter boxes. Hawaii and the rest of the nation is changing over to an all-digital TV system because of a mandate issued by Congress to free airwaves. The rest of the nation will go digital on February 17.

Click the images to learn about the most unusual museums in the world — from funeral customs, to penises, to velvet paintings, to stripping.



What the digital TV switchover means for people on the road

by Scott Carmichael on

By now, most of you have probably seen the commercials warning about the upcoming digital TV switchover planned to take place on February 17th 2009.

Of course, I’m not going to waste your time explaining how to get ready for the transition at home, but I do want to take a minute to help those of you who depend on TV when they are on the road.

There are a couple of scenarios where travelers carry a gadget capable of receiving TV on the road, one involves those little 2″ LCD TV’s, the other is PC hardware for receiving and watching TV on your portable computer.
If you have been a happy user of a portable LCD TV, then the bad news is that you are pretty much out of options. All of these units are analogue only, which means no digital reception. So far, nobody has come forward with a digital unit, though that might change when companies announce their 2009 lineup at the CES in Vegas this week.

If you absolutely must get your TV fix, then you could consider this 7″ Haier unit ($129) or this $150 7″ Axion LCD TV.

Of course, neither unit is as portable as what you are probably used to, but both feature an integrated digital (ATSC) tuner. Portable TV’s in this price range usually come with a small digital/HDTV antenna, but depending on your location, you may not be able to pick up the signal, not to mention you’ll look like an idiot trying to position the antenna in the airport departure lounge.

For users of a computer based TV receiver things can be a little trickier.

Sites like Amazon are still selling PC TV tuners that are not compatible with the upcoming digital transition, so when you shop for a tuner, you’ll need to keep an eye open for units that won’t become close to useless after February 17th.

The magic words you are looking for are “ATSC”, “Digital TV” or “Digital Terrestrial”. More advanced tuners may even include support for “QAM”, which is the digital system used by cable companies.

Some PC TV receivers can be upgraded with digital support, while others simply lack the hardware to receive the broadcasts. If in doubt, check the support site of the device manufacturer.

There are of course alternatives to receiving TV over the air with a tuner. My personal favorite is the Slingbox, which lets you “stream” the signal from your home TV signal over the Internet to your laptop, desktop or mobile phone.

Alternatively, some mobile phone operators offer their own “mobile TV” service, usually starting at $10/month. Both options require a connection to the Internet, and can be fairly data intensive.