After a long, long wait (two and a half years, to be exact), Verizon Wireless finally switched on V Cast Mobile TV in San Francisco, Sacramento, and Fresno.
Unlike the carrier's V Cast streaming-video service, V Cast Mobile TV uses a portion of the UHF spectrum. The result is a stunning viewing experience that mimics that of your home TV, albeit on a much smaller screen. Powered by Media Flo technology, V Cast Mobile TV transmits at 30 frames per second (V Cast streaming video caps out at 15fps). Also, because the TV signal is independent of the regular CDMA or EV-DO signals, you don't need any bars to watch the programming.
V Cast Mobile TV is limited to a selection of Verizon phones--right now it's just the LG Voyager and the Motorola Krave ZN4--and the service will cost you $25 per month. For programming details, check out Verizon's V Cast Mobile TV site.
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(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)Here in the Bay Area, we've been waiting a long time for Verizon Wireless to turn on its V Cast Mobile TV network. And why wouldn't we be excited to get it? The TV quality far surpasses the streaming video on Verizon's 3G network. But, more importantly, we wouldn't have to send the V Cast Mobile TV phones to Chicago or New York to get them reviewed. We realize that Verizon doesn't have enough spectrum here but if Wichita, Kan., gets service, shouldn't we?
Well, the good news is that the Bay Area will get V Cast Mobile TV. The bad news is that it won't happen for some time. From what we heard at CTIA, the service is slated to come to our tech-obsessed burg in early 2009. We don't have an exact date, and even that time frame isn't set in stone, but it will arrive here eventually. That's good to know, but 2009 is still a long time to wait to get the most out of slick new cell phones like the Motorola Rizr Z6tv.
Motorola Rizr Z6tv
(Credit: Motorola)Though there was much ado about Verizon Wireless' V Cast Mobile TV service when the carrier launched the service earlier this year, it's been eerily quiet since then. In particular, we've been waiting for new handsets beyond the original LG VX9400 and the Samsung SCH-U620.
Motorola Rizr Z6tv
(Credit: Motorola)Fortunately, our wait came to an end this morning when Verizon and Motorola announced the new Moto Rizr Z6tv. Sporting the familiar, and may we add quite attractive, Rizr slider design, the Z6tv offers a solid feature set beyond the Mobile TV support (which is quite enough by itself). You'll find Bluetooth, a 2-megapixel camera, an expandable memory slot and a digital audio player. The Z6tv's dimensions are marginally bigger than those of the original Z3, and like the other V Cast Mobile TV phones, the display can switch to a landscape orientation for more comfortable television viewing. Yet we noticed that the Z6tv has a 65,000-color display, compared with the 262,000-hue screens on the VX9400 and the SCH-U620. We'll have to see how that affects the video quality when we get a review model.
It's important to note that you should only consider the Rizr Z6tv if you live in a V Cast Mobile TV coverage area. Otherwise, and that currently includes us in San Francisco, you'll miss out on all the fun. The Rizr Z6tv will be available October 5 for $179 with service and rebates. Check back soon for a review model.
LG VX9400
(Credit: CNET Networks)Crave got up close and personal with Verizon's latest cell phone for its new V Cast Mobile TV service. The LG VX9400 sports a unique form factor with a brilliant display that swivels up for comfortable viewing. Inside you'll find a host of features that are backed up by decent performance. Video sound quality could be a bit iffy at times, and the rotating display isn't conducive for making calls, but we like it better than the previous Samsung SCH-U620. For more, check out our VX9400 review and our slide show.
The Samsung SCH-u620 will support V Cast TV.
(Credit: Samsung)Here at Crave, we've been patiently awaiting the launch of Verizon's Wireless V Cast Mobile TV. And after we reported last week that all signs were pointing to a March 1 launch, we now have official (in a roundabout sort of way) confirmation that the game is on for Thursday. A sharp-eyed Crave reader pointed us to the coverage map section of the Verizon Testman Web site where V Cast Mobile TV is noted as launching on March 1. (To see the map, pick your city and then click the "V Cast TV" box on the bottom of the page.) Though the coverage map doesn't indicate coverage cities, we've heard that the initial launch will have a mostly Midwestern focus with such locales as Chicago, Minneapolis, and Kansas City. We've been bugging Verizon for a few days to give us a full list of launch cities as well as the monthly rate, but so far we've heard nothing. Stay tuned, we'll keep you posted.
Thanks Austin.
Samsung Mobi
(Credit: CNET Networks)The LG VX9400 is not the only phone to support V Cast Mobile TV. The other phone is called the Samsung Mobi, which also goes by the name Samsung SCH-u620. We managed to get a look at it after the Verizon press conference, and it looks and feels a lot like the Samsung Drift phone from Helio. It is nice and compact with a soft-touch finish on its matte black surface, and it's a slider phone.
The specifications are very similar to that of the LG VX9400; features include a 1.3-megapixel camera, a camcorder, text and multimedia messaging, Bluetooth, full access to V Cast video and V Cast music, an MP3 player, VZ Navigator support, and a microSD card slot. Similar to the LG VX9400, the Samsung Mobi/SCH-U620 also has a dedicated TV button and an extendable antenna to improve the reception. We were impressed with the speed of the channel surfing, which you do with the up and down direction keys.
Samsung Mobi with the V Cast Mobile TV programming guide
(Credit: CNET)Though the 2-inch screen was not as conducive to TV watching as the LG VX9400's 2.5-inch screen, it still looked pretty good. It will probably be available by end of March, though pricing is not known.
Watching ESPN football on the LG VX9400
(Credit: CNET Networks)As we mentioned earlier here and here, Verizon has indeed partnered with Qualcomm's MediaFlo to bring us live television on Verizon phones. The service is dubbed V Cast Mobile TV, and one of the first phones out of the gate with it is the aforementioned LG VX9400.
At first, we thought the phone looked rather large and unwieldy, but when we took a closer look, we were surprised at how good it looks, especially the screen. The 2.5-inch display really makes a difference when viewing TV shows. There's a dedicated TV button that switches on the Mobile TV service immediately, and we managed to flip through TV channels with the same sort of speed you would surf channels with at home.
The LG VX9400 with the V Cast Mobile TV interface
(Credit: CNET Networks)There's also a sizable antenna, which can be extended and is supposed to improve TV reception. As far as features go, here's what we know: It will have a 1.3-megapixel camera, a camcorder, text and multimedia messaging, access to V Cast Video and V Cast Music, an MP3 player, support for VZ Navigator, a microSD card slot, and Bluetooth. Of course, we can't give you our official verdict until we can get our hands on it for a full review, but it looks promising so far.
In addition, a Verizon rep told us that since the live television runs on the MediaFlo network and not on the traditional cellular network, you could conceivably receive V Cast Mobile TV reception in places you would not normally receive a cell signal--in elevators and subways, for example. Very promising indeed.
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