EchoStar announces that it has agreed to acquire Sling Media a privately-held digital lifestyle products company. EchoStar, through its DISH Network, is the third largest pay-TV provider in the United States. The transaction values Sling Media at approximately $380 million and is payable in cash and EchoStar options. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Sling Media, the creators of the Slingbox, rolled out two new HomePlug powerline solutions for the Slingbox. The SlingLink TURBO offers a higher speed connection between the Slingbox and the router, thus creating a better Slingbox experience for customers. The SlingLink TURBO 4 Port is available in many retail locations as well as online, with the SlingLink TURBO 1 Port hitting retail shelves in the coming weeks.

In a first for all major professional sports leagues, the National Hockey League is partnering with Sling Media around the company’s upcoming Clip+Sling technology. The NHL and Sling Media have signed an agreement whereby Sling Media’s Clip+Sling technology will enable all current and future Slingbox customers to clip and share live or recorded segments of NHL programming online with friends, family and others.

“Having the most tech-savvy fans of all major professional sports, who also tend to be early adopters of new technology, makes offering NHL content through Clip+Sling a natural fit,” said Keith Ritter, President, NHL Interactive CyberEnterprises. “This partnership expands the visibility of our NHL games online and we are excited and proud to be the first sports league to offer this service to our fans.”

Until now, you would have used a PC or mobile phone to receive television streams from your Slingbox, but that was all before the SlingCatcher. Sling Media is about to reveal the SlingCatcher, their new device that allows you to 1) receive video and files from your PC to your TV and 2) TV streams from your Slingbox and other connected devices either in your home or on the road.

There's a ton of buzz around this and they become rather confusing as they make it sound like the SlingCatcher actually sends content from your PC to TV. On the contrary, the SlingCatcher will be on the receiving end allowing you to display streams from your home-connected PC or Slingbox.

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.

Sling Media, Inc. announced that its award-winning Slingbox will soon be available for purchase across Japan. Sling Media is working with two partners to deliver Slingbox to the Japanese market: Itochu Corporation and I-O Data Device, Inc. Itochu Corporation will serve as Sling Media's exclusive distribution partner in Japan and I-O Data will market and sell the Slingbox through their retail locations across the country. The Slingbox will be available July 8th throughout I-O Data's online and retail locations and will cost 29,800 Yen (recommended retail price). The companies jointly made the announcement at a press event in Tokyo on Friday.

As one could have guessed, if Sling Media is not going to put out some sort of PVR for the Slingbox, then someone else surely will.

Thus, the company Applian Technologies has created Replay SlingCorder, which allows you to capture and record video being streamed from your Slingbox. The software records at a 320x240 resolution and saves the content as Windows Media files.

Sling Media, Inc. announced that its award-winning Slingbox is now available for purchase across the United Kingdom. The Slingbox is offered both in store and online from DSG International Plc, initially sold exclusively through its computer superstore chain PC World and at www.pcworld.co.uk. The Slingbox will also be available in Currys and the new Currys.digital stores in the next four to six weeks. The Slingbox is available in the UK for GBP 179.99 including VAT.

Sling Media, Inc. announced a public beta program for its new version of SlingPlayer Mobile for devices based on the Windows Mobile Smartphone Edition operating system. Now Slingbox owners can watch and control their home TV from any network-enabled mobile phone or handheld computer (PDA) powered by Windows Mobile. The beta version of SlingPlayer Mobile for Windows Smartphone software is available as a free download from Sling Media's web site, www.slingmedia.com, as part of the public beta program. This new software is compatible with devices that run Microsoft's Windows Mobile Smartphone Edition version 5.0.

Ars Technica has a short write-up about SlingMedia going after a patent to produce their own media device that would allow users to watch their streamed TV. The device would appear direct competition with Sony's 12-inch LocationFree TV.

Over the last year, we've seen Sling Media's Slingbox emerge in the entertainment market by allowing users to watch their television service wherever as long as they had a broadband connection.

Now enters Sony's LocationFree TV into the ring where a recent PSP firmware update allows it to act as a receiver for the LocationFree device. So can Sony's LocationFree TV knock out Sling Media's Slingbox?

Wilson Rothman at Time.com put the Slingbox head-to-head with Sony's LocationFree TV. Read the play-by-play coverage in the article, "Gadget Showdown: Sling Media Slingbox vs. Sony LocationFree TV".

Ars Technica has an article entitled, "Will Hollywood sue the SlingBox out of existence?"

The Slingbox is a piece of equipment that allows users to watch live television wherever they go as long as they have an Internet connection. You simply hook the candy bar sized piece of equipment up to your broadband connection and television signal at home. You then have full control of your television over the Internet from anywhere in the world. The Slingbox also connects to other devices such as DVRs and TiVo.

The content companies are not happy about it though as Ars Technica writes. "Jim Goodmon, president of Capital Broadcasting, is surprised that Sling has not been sued out of business already. He claims that the issue does not involve recording but retransmission agreements, which Sling has not signed with anyone."

Sling Media, Inc., a digital lifestyle consumer electronics products company, today announced the first official release of SlingPlayer Mobile for Slingbox owners. SlingPlayer Mobile is a new software package that gives Slingbox owners the ability to watch and control their home TV from any network-enabled mobile phone or handheld computer (PDA) powered by Windows Mobile. The SlingPlayer Mobile software available today is compatible with devices that run Windows Mobile Pocket PC 5.0 and 2003 Second Edition. Sling Media will deliver a version for non-touchscreen devices based on Windows Mobile Smartphone later this quarter.

Sling Media, Inc. announced the release of SlingPlayer Mobile as part of a public beta program for Slingbox owners. SlingPlayer Mobile is a new software package that gives Slingbox owners the ability to watch and control their home TV from any network-enabled mobile phone or handheld computer (PDA) powered by Windows Mobile. The SlingPlayer Mobile software available today is compatible with devices that run Windows Mobile Pocket PC 5.0 and 2003 Second Edition. Sling Media will also deliver a version for non-touchscreen devices based on Windows Mobile Smartphone within the next month.

Alice Hill, at RealTechNews, has released the second field test (see Slingbox Connected to San Francisco TiVo From London for the first) of the Slingbox, only this time from Africa. In the review, Alice uses her connection in San Francisco to test the Slingbox from a hotel in Africa with ISDN and a WiFi router.

Read the verdict of the field test.