Sling Media's highly anticipated SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone, announced at CES in January, is finally available for purchase in the iTunes App Store. Like its SlingPlayer Mobile (for Windows Mobile) and SlingPlayer Mobile for BlackBerry counterparts, the iPhone application is priced at $29.99. Just like the other versions, the iPhone version streams live television from a Slingbox directly to your handheld device. One big difference that's sure to disappoint iPhone users, however, is the fact that, at Apple's request, the live television streaming app can only function when used with a WiFi connection. 3G and EDGE data connections aren't supported (as they were in the beta).
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SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone officially supports Sling's current lineup of media streamers, though the app will also connect to "legacy" boxes, including the Classic, AV, and TUNER. Because these older boxes are not officially supported, customers will be on their own should they run into any technical problems getting the app to run with these devices.
The installation process is no different from other iPhone applications—you purchase and download SlingPlayer Mobile directly from the App Store—though the $29.99 price tag rings in significantly higher than most other iPhone apps. When launching the app for the first time, you're prompted to select from a list of associated Slingboxes after entering your Sling Account information. After selecting a Slingbox, the app automatically reconnects to that Slingbox whenever you launch the app.
The app functions in much the same way as the other two versions, though the landscape-only interface has been polished for use on the iPhone. I was able to effortlessly connect to a variety of Slingboxes using an account provided to me by Sling Media. I also connected to my Slingbox PRO without a hitch. Streaming video appears about 20 seconds after logging in, significantly slower than the five seconds required to connect from my computer. Flipping through channels took about five seconds per channel—a significant hindrance for mobile channel surfers.
Navigating through channels without the full PC-based SlingPlayer interface can be a challenge, especially if you haven't managed to memorize your provider's channel lineup, but creating a list of favorites helps to make the experience more manageable. You can select channels by directly entering a channel number into the onscreen keypad, flicking your finger up and down on the screen to navigate channel by channel, or flicking left or right to navigate through your list of mobile favorites.
Standard definition 4:3 content looked best on the iPhone's display, appearing without distortion and filling most of the display. HD content in its native letterbox format was displayed with large black bars on all four sides. The app really ought to be able to do a better job fitting HD video to the screen, taking better advantage of the iPhone's widescreen display. Additionally, the app lacks some basic image-formatting functionality found in other iPhone apps, such as a double tap to maximize a video feed in the YouTube app, for example.
Formatting issues aside, video quality was acceptable—about what you'd expect when streaming content from YouTube, for example. The video framerate was lower than expected on my speedy WiFi connection, however. While the iPhone app lacks the frame rate counter present in earlier Windows Mobile versions, I'd estimate video streaming at 20 fps. Because it filled more of the display, I preferred viewing content from SD sources with the app.
There's certainly room for improvement, considering that the app is limited to WiFi connections, where bandwidth is less of an issue. There are currently no options for manually adjusting image-quality settings, with the exception of changing the aspect ratio. Audio quality was acceptable, but its low bitrate results in mild distortion. An audio-only mode is offered as well, presumably designed for streaming content over EDGE, even though the final version supports only WiFi.
Overall, the application is much snappier than the beta version I tested last month. While the beta version I tested was able to stream video over 3G and EDGE, quality suffered significantly when streaming video over AT&T's network. The stream required constant rebuffering, and the initial connection took far longer than with the current release. My iPhone's battery also depleted significantly faster when streaming video over 3G, so I avoided using the app whenever I was away from a power outlet. Of course, that's exactly when you want to watch portable live streaming television! While it's disappointing that the app only works in WiFi mode, the current more limited version of the app definitely works better than the beta did.
If you've been drooling over the thought of streaming live television on your iPhone since Sling Media announced the app earlier this year, you're in luck—this app certainly delivers, as long as you're in a WiFi coverage area. SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone still leaves plenty of room for improvement, however, and while $29.99 is the same cost as the other versions of the app for other platforms, it definitely isn't chump change when it comes to iPhone apps.
