Sling Media and Palm announced at CES SlingPlayer Mobile for Palm OS, making it possible to watch television on the 3G-enabled Palm Treo 700p smartphone. However, not all Palm users will be thrilled. While Treo 650 and 680 users could try the software, it may prove limiting without the 3G network to power it.
SlingPlayer Mobile is a software client that gives Slingbox customers the ability to watch and control their home TV from a wirelessly enabled smartphone. With today’s announcement, SlingPlayer Mobile now supports Treo smartphones running both Palm OS and Windows Mobile, including the Treo 700p, the Treo 700w, the Treo 700wx and the recently announced Treo 750.
SlingPlayer Mobile gives consumers their entire home TV experience. Anything that they can watch on their sofas back home, they can now watch via a Treo 700p smartphone. In addition, SlingPlayer Mobile customers can control a home digital video recorder (DVR), such as a TiVo, to record shows, watch shows that have been previously recorded, and even pause and rewind live TV.
The mobile TV experience for Palm OS is powered by the Slingbox, a consumer electronics product that enables consumers to watch their living room TV programming from wherever they are by turning virtually any Internet-connected Windows-based laptop or desktop into a personal TV that can be viewed on the Treo 700p. The Slingbox redirects, or "placeshifts," a single live TV stream from a cable box, satellite receiver or DVR to the viewer’s PC — located anywhere in the home or anywhere in the world, via the Internet.