Qualcomm’s FLO TV launches gadget for watching TV on the go

October 6, 2009 | Dean Takahashi | Comments | |

flo-2Qualcomm’s FLO TV division is launching a gadget to deliver live mobile TV service for people on the run.

The FLO TV Personal Television will play TV that is available through Qualcomm’s own dedicated mobile TV network. The dedicated device will not be a phone; its sole purpose is to let people view TV news, sports, children’s shows, and movies. It will be available for the holiday season for $249.99 and a subscription fee of $8.99 a month.

It’s a bold bet, but it could also be a disaster. Qualcomm has been pushing FLO TV on cell phones for a while but has had limited success getting paying subscribers for high-definition TV on a small screen. It’s just not clear that people really want to watch TV so much that they will pay subscription fees.

flo-1The device will show live TV or time-shifted shows over FLO TV’s dedicated multicast network. The company built the network so that it can transmit shows with no delays related to downloading or storing data in memory. The touchscreen device, designed by Frog Design and made by HTC, lets you change channels with the swipe of a finger.

The device has a 3.5-inch diagonal screen and measures 4.4 inches by 3 inches by 0.5 inches. It weighs five ounces and has five hours of battery life, when in active use. The screen has a finger-friendly capacitive touchscreen. It has stereo speakers and a stand so you can set up the device on a flat surface. FLO TV is available 86 major markets and will be available in more than 100 by the end of the year.

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About the Author, Dean Takahashi

Dean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.

  • thethirdone
    Don't most people like TV so much they pay a subscription fee?

    Seriously, think about what you're writing.
  • Looks like a nice slim device though - wonder if it is a Flash backend or "modifyable"... gotta love skinning your own slim-devices ;) I would love to see what OS it is running.
  • 70news2
  • Tom
    It’s a bold bet, but it could also be a disaster. Qualcomm has been pushing FLO TV on cell phones for a while but has had limited success getting paying subscribers for high-definition TV on a small screen. It’s just not clear that people really want to watch TV so much that they will pay subscription fees.

    UK & license fee, Sky subscriptions... How about them putting it on a tablet sized screen, rather than an iPhone sized screen? The technology is clever (reducing bandwidth used whilst broadcasting to many) but without a major player picking it up it seems to be niche as Nokia's attempts.