Hmmmm. Seems that FCC pressure might be doing wonders for those App Store approvals. Qik, which we reviewed earlier this month, had been pretty well kneecapped by either AT&T or Apple; choose your villain.

But lo and behold, today Qik [iTunes link] was updated so now it can upload video over the 3G network, not just WiFi as was the case in the first release of the app. I just tried it and it worked fine, happily uploading a video with no WiFi in sight. That realy improves Qik, but on every other smartphone Qik allows live streaming. Only the best and most powerful smartphone in the world has the no live restriction.

Coincidence or conspiracy? I downloaded the update, and yes, it works over 3G now. It's clear that something is causing Apple/AT&T to loosen up a bit. May that continue. Kinda hard to argue that Sling Mobile can't work over 3G now, isn't it? As most know, Sling Mobile was crippled for the iPhone even though it is allowed on every other capable phone on AT&T.

Let us know your results with Qik, and if you get a moment, send the FCC some flowers.

There are at least 27 Netflix related iPhone apps according to Macworld. Their purposes differ but most of them are designed to let you manage your movie queue.

A new player is about to enter the arena: Netflix itself, who intends to bring "Watch Instantly" video streaming to the iPhone/iPod touch and the Nintendo Wii. At present Netflix streams over 12,000 movies and TV shows over a large variety of devices including Intel-based Macs.

Todd Spangler of Mutichannel.com speculates, and I agree with him totally, that when released, streaming will be limited to Wi-Fi only. This is not because there's any technical reason not to stream over the AT&T 3G network, but like the SlingPlayer Mobile app, streaming will probably be hobbled to prevent massive data overloading of the AT&T network. This being the case, I wonder why Apple/AT&T allowed streaming of full baseball games using the MLB.com At Bat 2009 app over 3G as well as Wi-Fi?

It also brings up the question of why AT&T has been concerned about the issue of video streaming while Verizon, Sprint, Nextel and T-Mobile don't seem to have any problem with it. Perhaps AT&T is having seller remorse over their $30 all-you-can-eat data plan for the iPhone.

Putting corporate technological politics aside, I really look forward to the Netflix app. Even if limited to Wi-Fi streaming it will be a welcome addition to the stable of useful iPhone/iPod touch applications.

Note: Netflix only does business in the United States, so whether you are looking for a red envelope or streaming media, if you don't have a US zip code...never mind.

[via Ars Technica]

If you're a baseball fan you already have it. If not, you're missing a lot, and now MLB has updated At Bat 2009 [App Store link] to include more video streaming for fans who already subscribe to MLB.TV. That means as of today, those subscribers can watch all the remaining games this season (subject to blackout restrictions) on their iPhone or iPod touch.

The app has also been tested for iPhone/touch compatibility with version 3.0 of the Apple software. Regulars users of the app who haven't subscribed to any of the special MLB packages still get one free live streaming video game a day to watch, as well as all the current features of the app, including streaming audio from every MLB game as it is played.

I really like the app; my only complaint is that my favorite team which is supposed to be at the top of the list gets shunted down when other teams are the featured live streaming game. I'm hoping that is fixed in this new version, but it is too early to test it.

At any rate, if you're a big fan of the boys of summer, just check the App Store and update. It's especially good if you subscribe to to MLB.TV or MLB.TV Premium.

Batter up!

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.

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.

First ABC launched an online streaming 'channel' which featured reruns of primetime programming, and now CBS has launched innertube. You won't find episodes of CBS's primetime programming on innertube, though. CBS has developed online only content, like Greek to Chic, a makeover show for frat boys, and tie ins to Survivor.

innertube uses RealPlayer to stream the video, so once more Mac users can get into the fun.

[via Ars Technica]