The idea of live streaming TV on mobile devices took a few steps forward in the past month or so. Of course, it involves mostly Apple, but as we’ve seen, trends that start with Apple frequently trickle down to Android. Last month Time Warner Cable released an app that features its channel lineup streaming, free for customers, to an iPad. Cablevision followed last week. For years we’ve had Slingbox, and that already works on Android. And now content providers themselves are getting into the game. ESPN just release an iOS app, and I’m sure many others aren’t far behind. It’s leading to a golden age of video streaming. Those who already have a Slingbox know the joys of portable television. Just pick up a Slingbox and the $30 app from the Market and you can watch your TV from anywhere. For those who find the Slingbox price prohibitive, there’s a competitor making waves. As Android Guys noted yesterday, Vulkano Flow essentially provides the same service as Slingbox, but for a cheaper price. The set-top box costs just $100, and the app is $12.99. With either of these you can enjoy TV anywhere. Nothing on TV? Pick up an app like Droid Streamer. You can find plenty of on-demand options there. Sure, it will be great when cable companies release their iOS apps for Android. But there are already so many great choices for watching TV while you’re not at home — and really, with the cable company apps, you can’t use them when you’re not home anyway. But with so many streaming video apps and accessories on the market, we don’t even need them. We’re already entering a golden age of video streaming.
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This service has been available through SFR in France for months.
Admittedly the service will not operate over wifi, so it consumes a lot of 3G data, but it works.