Qualcomm's Flo TV live mobile-television service will head to 39 new markets later this week, as the nation prepares for the pending digital TV switch on Friday, Aug. 12.
The company's Flo TV will go live in 15 new markets on Aug. 12, including Miami and Boston and San Francisco, while the company also works on strengthening its service in existing markets. The nation's move to DTV has freed up the broadband spectrum, allowing Qualcomm to market its service to millions of possible new subscribers.
By the end of 2009, Qualcomm hopes to have Flo TV available for 60 million additional users and 100 markets across the United States.
Flo TV is a service that allows Verizon Wireless and AT&T subscribers to watch popular content from ESPN, MTV, Nickelodeon, Fox News, MSNBC, and other channels directly to their mobile phone. Along with live mobile TV, the service also offers full-length TV shows that don't require buffering or downloading before content is shown.
There has been a growing trend of mobile phone owners beginning to watch video content on their handsets, though there is a real lack of streaming content providers. Aside from Flo TV and MobiTV, there are very few choices for consumers -- which is slowly turning around now that sites such as Hulu plan to have mobile technologies.
I haven't personally used the service yet, but I may have to give it a go since it'll be available in San Francisco. Have you tried Flo TV yet? If so, what did you think of the service?
