SlingPlayer Mobile Software Now Available

By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 4/27/2006

San Mateo, Calif. — Sling Media is now issuing a SlingPlayer Mobile software package for owners of its Slingbox device, which allows home based TV and video content to be played back anywhere in the world.

Where the Slingbox relays content via a broadband connection from the home to PCs and notebooks, the new software will extend the capability to mobile phones and handheld media players.

SlingPlayer Mobile is said to work with any network-enabled mobile phone or handheld computer powered by Windows Mobile. The software is compatible with devices that run Windows Mobile Pocket PC 5.0 and 2003 Second Edition, Sling Media said.

A version of the software will be available for non-touch-screen devices based on Windows Mobile Smartphone later this quarter, the company said.

SlingPlayer Mobile software is available from Sling Media's Web site at www.slingmedia.com for $29.99 and includes a free 30-day trial. Slingbox owners who purchased and registered their Slingbox on or before April 26, 2006 will receive a free license for SlingPlayer Mobile.

Sling Media does not ask for a recurring fee to use the Slingbox or SlingPlayer software.

“While Microsoft Windows Mobile is the first handheld and mobile phone platform that Sling Media is supporting, we are committed to expanding support for other mobile device platforms in the future,” said Blake Krikorian, Sling Media CEO.

The main Slingbox, which has been available for about a year, currently carries a $249.99 street price, and is similar to Sony’s LocationFree TV system. The box connects to a home based TV, PVR or entertainment system, and enables users, via a broadband connection, to play video content on their desktop or notebook PCs from anywhere in the world.