Sling Media today announced SlingPlayer Mobile, a new software client that gives Slingbox customers the ability to watch and control their home TV from any wirelessly-enabled Windows Mobile smartphone or handheld computer. The new SlingPlayer Mobile software supports all flavors of Windows Mobile including Windows Mobile for Pocket PC and Windows Mobile for Smartphone, and is compatible with both Windows Mobile 4 and the recently released Windows Mobile 5 operating systems. The SlingPlayer Mobile software will be available in the first quarter of 2006. Pricing and distribution will be announced at that time.

"Our goal from the beginning has been to turn every display you own into your own personal TV. We are taking another step towards that with the release of the SlingPlayer Mobile software," said Blake Krikorian, co-founder and CEO of Sling Media. "Unlike other mobile video offerings, SlingPlayer Mobile gives Slingbox users their complete home TV experience on their mobile phone or handheld computer, including the ability to watch their local channels. Moreover, if customers have a digital video recorder -- such as a TiVo or ReplayTV -- they can watch recorded TV or even program that show they forgot to record, directly from their mobile device."

Compatible with the Most Popular Smartphones and Handhelds
With an ever-increasing number of Windows Mobile smartphones and handheld computers, Slingbox owners will have their pick of the most anticipated new wireless devices on the market. A list of devices that will be supported includes four of the hottest smartphones, the highly anticipated Palm Treo 700w, the Motorola Q, the Samsung i730 and the UTStarcom PPC6700, in addition to handheld computers like the Dell Axim and the HP iPAQ. As new mobile products based on the Windows Mobile operating system make their way to the market, Sling Media will continue to extend the capabilities of SlingPlayer Mobile. While Windows Mobile is the first mobile operating system that will be supported, Sling Media will add other operating system compatibility in the future.

Complete TV Experience
Unlike other services currently available for mobile phones and handheld computers, SlingPlayer Mobile gives consumers their entire home TV experience. Anything that you can watch on your sofa back home, you can now watch via your Windows Mobile-based device. In addition, SlingPlayer Mobile customers can fully control a home DVR to record shows, watch shows that have been previously recorded, and even pause and replay live TV.

The Slingbox is a breakthrough 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 and any Windows Mobile-based PDA or smartphone into a personal TV. The Slingbox redirects, or "placeshifts," a single live TV stream from a cable box, satellite receiver, or digital video recorder (DVR) to the viewer's PC -- located anywhere in the home or anywhere in the world, via the Internet.

Since its debut in June, the Slingbox has met with critical acclaim from major personal technology reviewers, including columnists for The Wall Street Journal, MSNBC, CNET.com, The Financial Times, Network World and LAPTOP Magazine, among others. The Slingbox has also received numerous industry awards across multiple categories, including innovation, engineering and design. Sling Media most recently received a PC World "Innovations" award, Time Magazine's "Best Inventions of 2005", BusinessWeek's "Best Products of 2005", a "Best of What's New" award from Popular Science and a "Breakthrough Innovation" award from Popular Mechanics.