Mobile DTV $149 Hotspot Due in May

While a number of products offering Mobile DTV—the free over-the-air TV service for portables and car TVs—were shown in January at the Consumer Electronics Show, few are shipping, so news that a $149 add-on device will be available this May, gives the fledgling technology a boost.
The product is a portable Mobile DTV hotspot to be offered through Amazon and eBay. Called the Tivizen (formerly the Tivit) it takes a Mobile DTV signal and re-transmits it to a WiFi device such a netbook, laptop, iPad or BlackBerry. The device is smaller and lighter than a deck of cards. It’s produced by Valups and its development was funded in part by broadcasters. The Tivizen is similar to a product in Japan that is used to deliver Mobile DTV to the iPhone.
Also, the much talked about Washington DC trial/showcase for Mobile DTV was given a firm launch date of May 3. Here nine TV stations will transmit in Mobile DTV and a select group of consumers will use netbooks, portables etc. to try out the service.
The specific products to be used in the trial are a special version of the Samsung Moment Android-based cellphone via Sprint service. It includes a Mobile DTV chip and it will be used by 200 consumers. Also slated for the trial is a Dell Inspiron Mini 10 netbook prototype, a portable LG Electronics DVD/Mobile DTV player and the Tivizen hotspot.
“Now with the introduction of Mobile DTV technology, broadcasters can reach viewers not just at home but anywhere and anytime — without needing new spectrum and without needing to build new towers. The Consumer Showcase is a truly exciting demonstration of the types of services that broadcasters will deploy across the country in the next few years, bringing a new era of television to the U.S,” said Brandon Burgess, CEO of ION Media Networks and Chairman of the Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC), a trade organization supporting the technology.
Trial participitants will receive local programming from NBC, Fox, MSNBC, CNBC, and PBS and other networks.
Currently 45 TV stations are airing in Mobile DTV, most of those in Washington DC.
Source: OMVC