Sling Media said early Thursday that it has released a beta application that will allow customers of its Slingbox to view content over certain PDAs and smartphones.Sling Media said early Thursday that it has released a beta application that will allow customers of its Slingbox to view content over certain PDAs and smartphones.
The SlingPlayer Mobile beta software only runs on Windows Mobile PocketPC 5.0 and Windows PocketPC 2003 Second Edition. A version of the software for the Windows Mobile Smartphone OS will be released in April.
Initially, the SlingPlayer
Mobile will be released for free, although the company will begin charging a one-time fee of $29.99 for the software beginning on April 26, which includes a 30-day free trial period. Customers who purchase and register a Slingbox before then will receive a free license for the software, the company said.
Sling Media announced its intention to develop software for mobile applications in January, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The Slingbox connects to a user's television, enabling him to watch and control his own television from a remote location, such as an international business trip. Honest Technology is also developing a software-based competitor to the SlingBox.
"SlingPlayer Mobile has arrived and we are thrilled to offer this amazing new piece of software to our loyal customer base," said Blake Krikorian, co-founder and chief executive of Sling Media, in a statement. "SlingPlayer Mobile delivers the complete home TV experience on any compatible Windows Mobile device and works with your existing Slingbox. Best of all, we are making it available for free for a limited time so if you are thinking about becoming a Slingbox owner, now is the perfect time."
A full list of compatible phones and devices is available at the company's web site, Sling Media said.
