Mobile TV - A New Service from Verizon

Have you ever wished that you could watch television on the go? Have you ever felt an urgent need for sports? Well, a new service offered by Verizon will actually fulfill both of these needs. Verizon wireless is now offering a service that will allow you to watch TV from anywhere that your complicated plans may take you.

First of all, Verizon mobile TV is not to be confused with V Cast which is a method of watching prerecorded videos on demand, and is instead a method of picking up special broadcast signals. Verizon mobile TV transmits an entirely different signal and processes it using a Qualcomm technology called mediaFLO (the FLO standing for forward link only). As the name suggests Verizon mobile TV only creates a forward link between the devices, meaning that information is only being broadcasted from the tower to the device. In theory, this means that you could be watching Verizon Mobile TV, when you don't even get cellular reception.

What is being transmitted is not exactly what is on the television, but instead the same shows with a few hour delay (due to licensing restrictions). Currently there are only eight different channels that you can watch, but most of them are major channels (MTV, Comedy Central, CBS, and NBC). There is room in the bandwidth for more, but in order for it to be filled there are a significant amount of licensing contracts that must be signed.

Currently there are only two phones that offer Verizon's Mobile TV service. One of them is the Samsung SCH-u620 and the other one the LG x9400. The Samsung appears to offer a significantly higher amount of stability, whereas the LG offers a swivel screen.

The television reception that these devices receive is crystal clear, but sadly there is no way to connect them to television at this time. Service plans range from 13 dollars a month for 4 channels, to15 dollars a month for 8 channels. You also have the option to pay 25 dollars a month to receive 8 channels plus a plethora of V Cast benefits.

One of the only downsides is that Verizon has currently only unrolled this new Mobile TV service in select areas. That means that if you're not located with in 50 miles of a large metropolitan area you may be out of luck. The reception areas can all be viewed on the Verizon website.

These phones cost about 200 dollars with a 2 year contract. If you are not getting a 2 year contract they will cost roughly double that amount. In some cases a mail in rebate offer will also apply.