Byline: Darrell Proctor
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS
Now here's an idea we're watching out for - live television via a cell phone.
Last week, Telecom Italia Mobile, a European mobile phone company, said subscribers with the latest handsets could begin watching live TV. TIM is the first company anywhere to offer the service, according to The New York Times; the company is making the service available free through the end of the year.
Video has been available on cell phones for a while - downloads of sports highlights or newscasts among the most popular offerings.
And several U.S. companies offer interactive television features; AT&T Wireless let subscribers vote for their favorite performers on American Idol, and Sprint PCS had a ``virtual coaching'' promotion during the 2002 World Series.
Japan's government already decreed that mobile phones developed in the next five years should be able to receive digital television. EDTN Europe reports that four Israeli high-tech companies are either ready, or soon will be, to deliver live TV to cell phones.
Where do I sign up?
