Real TV on your cell phone

Kent German, Senior Editor November 6, 2007

Though most carriers offer streaming video to your cell phone through a 3G network, Verizon Wireless is the only U.S. operator to mimic (at least to an extent) the television viewing experience from your living room. Unlike streaming video over a wireless broadband data service, Verizon's V Cast Mobile TV uses a dedicated TV signal directly to your cell phone. Sure, your cell phone's display may be smaller than your flat screen, and you won't get surround sound, but the video quality is quite good. There's no pixelation or restarts, just nice, clean video at the full 30 fps you'd get on your TV at home (streaming video is only 15fps). Also, while the programming isn't necessarily live, you do get full episodes of programs rather than the short clips you'd see on streaming video. The big catch is that it costs an extra $25 per month and it's not available everywhere; the San Francisco Bay won't get it until early 2009, but if you're looking for a sharp mobile multimedia feature, V Cast TV is hard to beat. At present, Verizon offers three handsets that support the service, the LG VX9400, the Samsung SCH-U20 (aka the Mobi) and the recent Motorola Rizr Z6tv.

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