LAS VEGAS – iMovee is demonstrating at International CES its
Mobeo wireless pocket streamer designed to bring broadcast Mobile DTV on using
the ATSC-M/H standard to smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices.
Mobeo is slated to launch in the second quarter of the year at
retail prices expect to start around $150. It is powered by a Siano mobile DTV
receiver to streamers that enable viewing broadcast mobile TV on any Wi-Fi
enabled device.
iMovee, which called the relay of Mobile DTV, Internet connect
and other services to other handheld devices “Telefusion,” will access live
broadcast TV, live streaming TV/VOD and social-media networks.
The company said its Mobeo line of products addresses several
broadcast digital TV technologies, including ATSC-M/H for the USA, ISDB-T for
Latin America, and DVB-T for Europe, among others.
Mobeo is a wireless accessory that supports a host of display devices
such as smartphones and tablets, that run on popular operating systems,
including as Google’s Android, Apple’s iOS and the new Microsoft Windows Phone
7.
The device will receive broadcast ATSC-M/H signals in vehicles
moving at speeds up to 160 mph, said Maxel Rapheal, iMovee CEO.
He said Mobeo will receive both free standard and subscription-
based premium Mobile DTV broadcasts available in markets across the country.
iMovee is looking to distribute the product both through retailers
and as an OEM through premium mobile DTV service partners.
Rapheal cited premium mobile DTV service providers MCV or the
Mobile 500 as an example of service partners that could decide to carry the
product for its subscribers.
Purchasers are not unconditionally bound to any one service
provider, Rapheal explained, adding that a Mobeo purchaser can simply call the
iMovee offices to activate or deactivate any premium mobile DTV service, and
continue to use the device with different providers or in-the-clear broadcast
offerings.
Devices typically compatible with system include: Apple’s iPhone
and iPad, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, Motorola’s Droid, HTC’s Trophy, among other.
Mobeo runs on a rechargaeable battery offering approximately four
hours per charge – a capability iMovee attributes to the low-power consumption
characteriscs of the Siano tuner chip.
Among the device features is channel swipe and channel spinner,
and an easy to navigate user interface.
Through Mobeo’s “telefusion” characteristics, viewers can receive
linear TV, YouTube and VOD, Rapheal explained.
It also enables what iMovee calls a “virtual living room
experience by having a group of people watch the same live TV program from
different places and be able to chat over it. The users can exchange messages
over their Facebook and Twitter accounts while watching TV.”
iMovee is providing a VOD streaming movie service that users can
access to rent movies and TV programs. Rapheal said iMovee will offer $150
worth of free VOD programming for the purchase of the device.
“So, if the Mobeo costs $150 at retail, it will be like getting
the device for free,” Rapheal said.
