To Love, Honor, Cherish and Sling

I recently found myself stuck at a wedding in the middle of the UCLA vs. Florida NCAA Final Four game. Fortunately for me I had my Treo 700p (with an unlimited data plan - crucial if you do a lot of internet browsing and multimedia), along with a Slingbox back at my apartment in San Francisco. Using these two devices, combined with a cleverly concealed ear piece, I was able to finish the game during the ceremony with no one the wiser.

For the uninitiated, Slingbox is a device you attach to your Cable TV, Satellite or DVR set-top box, and to the high-speed internet connection you have at home, so you can "sling" video to just about any web enabled device (in this case my Treo 700p). So whether you are stuck in the office, killing time on a train or watching your friends get hitched (be careful not to get caught), you can control your TV from just about anywhere there's a network connection. There is no monthly fee from Sling Media, but make sure you have an unlimited data plan with your cell phone carrier (otherwise it could get a little costly).

As far as setup goes, if you have a UPNP router, setting up your Slingbox should be a breeze. Otherwise setup can be a little tricky, especially if terms like router, port number and IP address sound like a foreign language. So if you are one to be easily frustrated, you may want to invite your wiz kid nephew over or perhaps someone from Best Buy's Geek Squad to do the initial setup.

If you are a current Sling user or watching and controlling your TV from your Treo sounds like something you can get behind, you should definitely check it out:

-Treo smartphones (700w/wxand 750 models supported)

-SlingPlayer Mobile for Palm OS (700p) is currently available as a public Beta

Let us know your thoughts,

Jeff Finkelstein

Product Manager, Multimedia

Also, here are a few takes from others:

-MyTreo.net

-TreoCentral

-UneasySilence

Comments

[Alex Na]

Unlimited data plan. Nice. Here in Canada we just do not have it. ;(

[Robert Linden]

Hi Jeff

This is a nice and informative little ad for what the 700p can do. But It would be great if you could spend a little blog time addressing some of the issues raised by bloggers from the previous blog, otherwise people are going to think this is just a promo dupe site and stay away.

Thanks!

Of course, what would have been *really* impressive is if you'd been able to do this while serving as a groomsmen!

Thanks again, Palm people, for blogging. Great idea.

[Mickey Papillon]

Nice writeup Paul. I have been using sling since the holidays and can tell you that you can't beat how great it is when you are out and about! I just picked up the Treo 700wx so I am excited to play with it on there to see how it performs!

[Chad Garrett]

Argh, too bad EDGE is to slow. I would buy a SlingBox if my 680 could support it.

[Mike Cane]

While it's nice to share, I second Robert Linden. We'd like steak here, not sweets.

[AJ0230]

Thats assuming your 700P didnt crash.

OTOH its nice to know that the Palm employees are using the 700P so they must know how bad it is.

Of course they might already have the MR installed and loving life.

I agree with the above post, it would be nice to see some comments from Palm concerning OUR comments about the MR.

[waldo15]

I used the Sling software in my 700p (fix the lag please!) and it works great. Audio and video can be a little out of sync at times though. But I'll give it to Sling Media, their integration with the Treo is just right! the 5 way nav and keyboard simplify things a lot!

Speaking of unlimited data plans, Verizon has just stated that their "unlimited" data plan is actually limited to 5GB per month. I hope Jeff you were using Sprint all along :)

[waldo15]

I used the Sling software in my 700p (fix the lag please!) and it works great. Audio and video can be a little out of sync at times though. But I'll give it to Sling Media, their integration with the Treo is just right! the 5 way nav and keyboard simplify things a lot!

Speaking of unlimited data plans, Verizon has just stated that their "unlimited" data plan is actually limited to 5GB per month. I hope Jeff you were using Sprint all along :)

[maceyr]

I agree on the lack of unlimited data plan in Canada. Until we get a few more carriers in Canada, I guess we'll remain strangled by the 3 major guys. Unfortunately for me, I only have one choice since I want GSM.

Nice post, by the way. It's nice to be able to read about experiences and bring more of a personal perspective rather than as Palm the company.

Looking forward to getting more posts from others at Palm and make this even better!

May C from Palm Discovery ( http://palmdiscovery.net )

[TBolt]

I kind of agree with Robert Linden. As a customer, I'd like this blog to be THE outlet for important Palm announcements, technical solutions to our problems and explanations that help us understand what Palm is doing to stay competitive.

I liked that, in Anatomy of a Software Update, Palm finally leveled with us and helped us understand why we haven't seen a solution to our OS problems thus far. :)

[MegaZone]

The SlingPlayer Mobile for PalmOS is only officially supported on the 700p, but it works just fine on the 680 as well. And you can get it working on the 650 with a few tweaks - see the forums at SlingCommunity.com for info on that.

I've been playing with the beta on both my 650 and 680.

[Kevin]

Yes, please do not follow the "corporate blog" like Johnathan Schwartz of Sun. We don't need to be sold. Follow the Tim Bray style of blog and we will be much happier. Get some engineers talking to us.

All in all, we are quite happy you and Palm are blogging now. :)

Kevin

[Gaber]

I love the Slingbox. I love the SlingPlayer Mobile for PalmOS. I hate that my Treo 700p lost its HSSN number, and can no longer run SlingPlayer. I know this is the cause directly from Sling support. I just hope and pray that when I go to try to exchange my phone that Sprint doesn't treat me like a piece of **** like they usually do.

[RichC]

Enjoy the blog guys. The Palm version of the Slingplayer Beta has impressed everyone that I've shown. (except the comment "boy is that picture small") I find it particularly enjoyable when making a drive and porting the sound to my car speakers. With Sprint's EV-DO service and a 700p the Slingbox runs extremely well ... even controlling the TiVo unit. Here's a quick personal post and photo of it running the other day:
http://blog.myarchive.us/?p=754

Now let's get that overdue maintenance release out for the 700p (and the 755p out) and I'll be a 'real' happy camper. (bluetooth connectivity problem is driving me crazy)

[Richard]

As was mentioned...if this is really a blog, why don't we see a response to specific issues that are raised? The 700P situation is NOT going to go away until you, and especially Steve, address some of the questions that have been raised. You are facing a very skeptical user base at this point; you have some work to do to get them back on your side. Do something.

[Dale Ehrhart]

No offense, but Palm has had some serious customer service related issues over the last couple of years. I hope this blog is a place where issues are addressed as opposed to a place where fluffy marketing pieces are posted.

My pet issue:
Is palm completely abandoning handhelds in favor of smartphones?

I hope there's some attempt to address some of the reader's comments, or this blog's pointless.

Dale

[Alan Grassia]

Hey Jeff!

Thanks for posting that little article. You are so lucky that you didn't get caught!

The Sling seems like a really cool piece of hardware that should be added to my growing list of mobile tech gear. The one thing that customers need to be aware of, in addition to the strong suggestion that they have an unlimited data plan, is to double-check their wireless carrier's rules regarding streaming data to/from your Palm device. If you are thinking about getting the Sling, then read the fine print on your service contract first.

Cheers!
Alan

[Scott Boydman]

RE: negativity at the start of this blog's comments:

Wow! I guess some people are going to make this entire blog site answer for the 700p troubles. But I for one would like to praise Palm for starting this blog. Not every thread needs to pound this company on product problems. I think that the info that's being brought forth has been very helpful. Yes, we appreciate and need to be kept in the loop regarding 700p happenings, but how about being reasonable about keeping each thread somewhat on topic, or otherwise, this laudable effort will become very trying for everybody. Thanks to everybody, both Palm and its customers, for hanging in there!

[Benjamin]

Hi,

It's like a Sony Device which enable to broadcast home video all over the world.

[Alberto Cajigas Jr.]

Any examples of a UPNP router? I have an old Linksys 802.11b from about 4 years ago. Will it be a UPNP router?

[TCRichard]

I'm really disappointed to see that Palm's introductory effort at a blog has been hijacked by 700p users.

If I wanted to watch video on my TX (my 7th Palm OS device--none are Treos), I think I would get one of the Neuros recorders to put what I want directly on SD card and then practice safe walking and driving.

[Gary LaPointe]

Be sure to check your contract to see what they really mean by "unlimited". Streaming video (or audio) are generally (often?) forbidden in unlimited type contracts. There has been all sorts of talk about this in the various forums including http://discussion.treocentral.com/forumdisplay.php?f=85
specifically in http://discussion.treocentral.com/showthread.php?t=140328

Not being negative just don't want anyone to get burned by it... (or disconnected)

[Richard S]

I like the concept of the slingbox but I wouldn't buy it because I find watching movies for an extended periond of time on the 700p very strenuous. I'm one of those guys that don't mind carrying around a bigger device if it means I have a larger screen. If palm comes out with a Treo with a larger screen (similar to the Tungsten C)with the high resolution and brightness of the 700P, I would pay top dollars fot it, and perhaps get a sling box. Am I alone on this?

[Bob Clancy]

I found this piece fun to read, but the reality is until Plam really starts "blogging back" (ideally in these comments) I feel it is perfectly reasonable and fair (especially during the initial phases of this blog) for users to provide feedback about the type of content they (we) would like. So Alan, I sort have to diagree that comments about the direction the blog should take are inappropriate. Palm, I welcome positive and fun content such as this, but I have to echo that comment feedback and possibly additional posts detailing more about the upcoming 700p MR would really be most helpful at the current time. I really like the 700p on Sprint and the potential new applications that may work better after the MR has been applied!

sincerely,
--
Bob Clancy