This is a painful review to write, because the SlingPlayer for iPhone had so much potential before AT&T decided to cripple it. One can understand the terror at the thought of a million SlingPlayers draining network bandwidth dry, but in fact, AT&T seems to be violating its own Terms of Service by allowing other smartphones to run SlingPlayer without interference.

OK, so how does the SlingPlayer [App Store link] for iPhone/iPod touch work on a WiFi network? Pretty well. The video can be a bit choppy, but it is quite watchable, and basically gives you a full-featured television receiver (or DVD player if you are set up that way) wherever you have an accessible network.

Set up is pretty easy and does not require a manual. The only pain point is inputting your unique Sling ID which requires typing long strings of upper case letters followed by numbers. This can be skipped if you have a Sling account configured in advance.

In my case I have a SlingBox Pro, connected to a DirecTV HD receiver. The remote worked fine, and it is a transparent overlay so the video shows through. Entering a command results in a 4-5 second wait for it to be executed, but that is understandable considering what is going on behind the scenes. Entering pretty much any command to the remote pauses the video and audio, which again, is understandable but not desirable.

If you have a DVR, the SlingPlayer app will control it, which is a real benefit to users who are away from home and want to catch a program, or play it back remotely.

The loss of 3G functionality is sad. In the old days I used the SlingPlayer on a Motorola smartphone. When traveling, it was easy to catch a newscast or get some ball scores from any location. Now, you have to have a Wi-Fi connection, which seriously limits your options.

Finally, there is the matter of price. It is hard to endorse paying $30.00US for an app that has lost a major feature. Sling charges the same price for versions of the app that do run on 3G. It seems unfair given all that has happened to this app.

It is certainly true that Sling Media is not to blame for the business decisions of AT&T, but the company certainly controls the pricing of the app.

I think there will be a lot of people who want to buy and use SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone. On the other hand, many people have had their enthusiasm severely dampened by the current situation. Unfortunately, no matter how clever the app, and it IS clever, AT&T, Apple and Sling Media have all been damaged by this drama.

Nothing is forever, and policies can change. All concerned will have to figure out if the decisions made so far with this app are worth the damage to reputations and corporate image.

Note: The Sling web site is running pretty slowly as I write this, and I was surprised to see that the iPhone version of the app is not listed in the support options.

Here are some screen shots of the app in operation:

Engadget and other publications tonight are quoting AT&T saying it knifed the SlingPlayer for iPhone due to concerns over bandwidth.

"Slingbox, which would use large amounts of wireless network capacity, could create congestion and potentially prevent other customers from using the network. The application does not run on our 3G wireless network. Applications like this, which redirect a TV signal to a personal computer, are specifically prohibited under our terms of service. We consider smartphones like the iPhone to be personal computers in that they have the same hardware and software attributes as PCs.

That said, we don't restrict users from going to a Web site that lets them view videos. But what our terms and conditions prohibit is the transferring, or slinging, of a TV signal to their personal computer or smartphone.

The Slingbox application for the iPhone runs on WiFi. That's good news for AT&T's iPhone 3G customers, who get free WiFi access at our 20,000 owned and operated hot spots in the U.S., including Starbucks, McDonalds, Barnes & Noble, hotels, and airports. AT&T is the industry leader in WiFi."

Well OK, AT&T. You do allow Slingplayer to run on other phones on your system. A couple of weeks ago you apologized for the language in the Terms of Service that got such bad publicity and implied it wasn't talking about the SlingPlayer.

It's clear the popularity of the iPhone combined with massive streaming is not going to help a cellular network that drops calls on the best of days. Apple is stuck with these guys, and so are we. iPhone owners who pay a healthy charge for 'unlimited' data are getting a crippled app on what is apparently a crippled network. Perhaps Apple will think about the fun they've had with AT&T the last couple of years and think about offering some choice to iPhone customers.

At least, that's what our sister publication is reporting. If true, there will be a tremendous firestorm of anger from iPhone customers who expected to use this app the way the Sling app runs on other devices, including some cellphones on AT&T that are able to use 3G. Using this $30.00 app on just Wi-Fi is a real turn off to many users. This app has had its share of ups and downs, with Sling confidently predicting it was on the way. It may be on the way, but it appears to have been seriously crippled. Editor's note: The story is now confirmed by Sling. Wi-Fi only (at this time).

Engadget is saying the app will be released after midnight EDT tonight. They also say older Sling hardware WILL work with the mobile app, albeit unsupported.I would think hardware stores will be busy today with sales of pitchforks and torches.

We have calls into Sling for an explanation. I don't think this is going to be pretty.

One of our British readers (thanks Adrien) says the app is already in the UK app store. Here is a link to a capture of the page in iTunes. No doubt about it. People are not going to be happy with Sling, Apple, or AT&T.

Could it actually be coming? A search at the iTunes App store for Sling Media brings up the name of the company, but no application attached to the name. That's a pretty healthy sign that the SlingMobile app for the iPhone and iPod touch is 'in the system', although I wouldn't call it proof positive the app has been or is about to be accepted.

It's been more than a month since the application was submitted to Apple for evaluation, and it has been a month of ups and downs. AT&T seemed to re-write its terms of service to eliminate Sling products on the network, but then AT&T relented. Then there was a rumor that the Sling app had been rejected, but that turned out to be an apparent hoax.

The last we heard, the folks at Sling Media say everything is just peachy, and be patient. The fresh listing of the company at the App Store is a good, but not definitive sign. Hopefully, it is not another chimera, and we'll all be streaming our media to our iPhones and iPod touches soon.

Thanks to Bryan Hill for the tip and the eagle eyes.

SlingMedia thinks so. In a brief note on the Sling website, the company notes: "We are in close contact with our partners at Apple and are optimistic that it will be approved soon. We hope the wait won't be much longer."

Hopefully the company knows something the pundits and rumor mongers don't. It's been a month of excitement followed by depression as lightly-sourced rumors spread that Apple would turn down the highly anticipated app at the request of AT&T, who worried about all the bandwidth the app would use. There was even a change in the AT&T Terms of Service, that the company later disowned and apologized for.

Of course other phones sold by AT&T and other carriers do offer the SlingPlayer Mobile app, but no other single phone has the footprint that the iPhone has.

There have also been rumors that the app might support WiFi only, which would be a tremendous downer for people who expected to be able to Sling away from just about anywhere. Hopefully, this whole soap opera is drawing to a close, but Sling fans shouldn't throw away their torches and pitchforks just yet.

Thanks to Matt for the tip.

Rarely has an iPhone/iPod touch app seen so many ups and downs.

People have expected Sling Media to provide a version of their streaming video player for Apple since the iPhone first launched, but it has yet to materialize. In January, Sling demonstrated a beta of SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone at Macworld and created a flurry of excitement.

Three weeks ago Sling announced with a great deal of fanfare that the app had been submitted to the App Store, but so far, all we're hearing are crickets...

Earlier this month AT&T changed its published Terms of Service to directly prohibit apps like SlingPlayer Mobile from operating on the AT&T network. After a major meltdown from AT&T customers, all the carrier could say was "whoops, we didn't mean it -- that was a mistake".

Last week, an anonymous tipster with a dubious domain told TUAW that he worked for Apple and stated that the company was going to reject the app because AT&T couldn't support the bandwidth demands. Of course, carriers do support the SlingPlayer on other phones, including the BlackBerry and several Windows Mobile phones.

So, here we are, more than three weeks after SlingPlayer Mobile was submitted to the app store, and there's still nothing. Nada. Bupkis. Zlich. In the meantime, Sling Media has alienated many Slingbox owners by intimating that a lot of their older gear won't work with the iPhone app when (or if) it is released.

Sling Media now has a web page up on their site with a nice demo of Slingplayer Mobile for the iPhone, due to hit the app store sometime later this year.

It's been a long time coming, as people were breathlessly looking for this functionality when the iPhone first came out. 3G capability made us even surer that it would arrive, but a lot of time went by and SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone was nowhere to be seen.

Now that it's been demonstrated at Macworld, it seems a lot more real, and Sling Media says they are submitting it to the app store in this quarter. They are also providing a form so you can send in your email address and be notified when the happy day arrives.

Hopefully Apple and AT&T will bless the app and iPhone users can move on and get their hopes up for that next big thing.