I just received a new phone from Cingular with MobiTV, 22 channels of live TV…though a lot of isn’t really live. How can a channel that just plays public-domain cartoons be considered live?
Tomorrow I will also be receive a new phone from Verizon which features VCast, their version of TV, with movie trailers, music and sports clips.
Yes, it’s the same phone number. I told Verizon I was transferring my service (and phone number) to them. I’m still within my 30 days to cancel Cingular, and I have another 15 days to cancel Verizon. I figured the only way to compare their cellular TV offerings was to actually view them in person.
But I don’t have that many days. So, after finding zero matches for “VCast” or “MobiTV” on the SDMB, I thought I’d send out a call to anyone with either of these services to tell me their experiences. Which is better for news? Sports scores, like fantasy scores? Smoothest play? Is there one that’s just plain better?
I’m sure people will respond with “I had Cingular and I hated it,” but I’m asking more about their TV service than anything else. Apparently, “cellovision” is an idea whose time has come, so I thought I’d get on board while I’m purchasing a new phone and upgrading my account.
I can’t speak for VCast, but I have experience with MobiTV, which I have on my cell phone (Sanyo MM-7400), although it’s listed as SprintTV powered by MobiTV.
It’s included in my multimedia package on my cell plan. It’s, ehhh. Good for wasting time in lines, etc. I tried paying for another service (GoTV) which I cancelled after one month. It was pretty much garbage.
I think your luck with ‘celevision’ could depend on the phone as well. Mine is already a year old. The picture is decent, but could probably stand to be just a bit cleaner. Still, good enough for quick news clips and the like. I don’t think it’s my area, since my service signal is usually very good, but I find most of the video clips break up and sometimes are just too choppy to even watch. There is a Live version of SprintTV that I’ve not yet purchased or tried out. I don’t know if I will. I don’t use the multimedia player on my phone enough to warrant an extra $10 a month. I can get my news online.
Thanks, psycat90. I’ll go further and answer my own question. This might help phone buyers in the future.
I ended up dumping Cingular for Verizon, and so far, ***every aspect*** of Verizon has been better. Better phone (LG VX8100), better reception, better customer service (though the Jeffrey's salesmen on *SNL* would've been an improvement over the clowns at Cingular) and much, much better video and web.
Cingular's MovbiTV was always choppy, and watching sports recaps was meaningless because they were basically series of stills. VCast -- I make no profit from shilling for them -- is just as good as streaming video on your computer. With a decent signal, nothing drops out. There are even *Daily Show* clips. How can you go wrong? And the internet is incredibly fast.
And another thing. Don’t fall for that Razr phone, like I did. Yes, it’s flat and lightweight, but the keypad is so flat that you can’t tell where the buttons are. You know how you could close your eyes and still work your TV remote by memory? What if your remote was flat, so you couldn’t tell where the buttons began and ended? And the red “cancel/stop/hangup” button is one micrometer from the navigation button, so be prepared to accidentally cancel text messages, internet browsing and phone calls with one wrong move of your thumb.
I don’t mean to go on and on about this, but the two companies and phones are worlds apart. Thank goodness I gave Verizon a try before locking myself into two years of bad equipment and service. And Verizon is actually cheaper!
If anyone wishes to disagree, feel free. This is the In My Humble Opinion forum, after all.