The Sling Player for IPhone Demo

[Scott Greczkowski]

I am hearing a rumor that the Slingplayer Application for the iPhone has been APPROVED.

The question now if it is improved is when will we see it in the App Store?

I know the DirecTV application was approved in one day however it did not show up in the app store until over 3 weeks later.

 

[JAG72]

This is great news.

 

[VinceT3]

As if things aren't bad enough... AT&T terms change targets Sling

looks like you're out of luck if you have an iphone.. sling is against terms of service now..

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

That would also make the YOUTUBE app that comes with the phone useless.

 

[goaliebob99]

As if things aren't bad enough... AT&T terms change targets Sling

looks like you're out of luck if you have an iphone.. sling is against terms of service now..

That would also make the YOUTUBE app that comes with the phone useless.

I dont see apple being with att after this contract as it seems like ATT keeps back tracking on the original innovation of the Iphone and limiting what it can do over its network. Im just waiting for the avaliablity of the Iphone to be on some one elses network and Im jetting from ATT.

 

[Left Field Fan]

Engadget is reporting that AT&T has just retracted their new TOS language.

 

[skottey]

As if things aren't bad enough... AT&T terms change targets Sling

looks like you're out of luck if you have an iphone.. sling is against terms of service now..

With $170 a month for my family and business phones, including a $40/month unlimited PDA data plan, I would simply drop service in a heartbeat if they were to actually enforce something like this. It is bad enough I have to use PDA Connect when tethering to trick the service into thinking I am using the PDA and not the connected laptop.

I don't think they will actually block Sling from Windows Media phones but this could be reason enough to not advertise or have a working Slingbox app on the iphone. I think they put this stuff in the contracts to have a leg to stand on if they have reason to go after you. Even Vonage's unlimited plan has a contract limit on usage, but they really only go after abusers (ie telemarketing firms that cheaply use their service and are on each line 12 hours a day non-stop). If somebody remained connected to their Slingbox 24/7, 30 days a month, they would go after them. But if you watched the news from work for a half hour each day, I doubt they would go after you on an unlimited data plan.

I would just as soon drop my data plan if I were honestly restricted in such a way. I've been with ATT for five years since it was Cingular and have never had a problem with charges for excessiveness.

 

[JAG72]

Engadget is reporting that AT&T has just retracted their new TOS language.

I hope that this is true. It says that the have already removed it but if you go to the terms the wording is still there. Hopefully it will be off the website very soon.

 

[GaryPen]

That has always been like that.

I just got an email from Sling regarding the $50 upgrade "Deal"

Its not a deal its cheaper to buy the box from Amazon even with the $50 off coupon.

They should offer a $50 upgrade REBATE, which can be redeemed regardless of where the new box is purchased. But, that would be far to fair to the consumer.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

They should offer a $50 upgrade REBATE, which can be redeemed regardless of where the new box is purchased. But, that would be far to fair to the consumer.

Remember Sling is owned by Echostar.

That speaks for itself.

 

[DJ Rob]

You'll get your rebate SOON?

I really hate when companies do this. It's just a money grab...

Reminds me of phone line connection fees...

 

[Pepper]

Remember Sling is owned by Echostar.

That speaks for itself.

Indeed, the writing was on the wall when Charlie Ergen bought the company and the founders split! This is simply another facet of Charlie's ethics-challenged business practices. This is the result of him not being able to figure out how to attach some sort of recurring fee to the SlingBox.

So my original silver SlingBox is obsolete because Charlie wants me to buy a newer one. The beta version of the iphone app works with the older boxes but for the released version they added some code to specifically detect and disable playback from those devices. That is a textbook example of greed, nothing else.

I've got a better idea, I wonder if anybody knows where to get a copy of that beta version of the iphone app. I already jailbroke the phone so there should be no problem installing it.

 

[Edogyip]

Here was the response I got after emailing Sling. They understand my frustration, so they must understand the loss of my business as well :

Thank you for contacting United States Sling Media Technical Support.

I am sorry for the inconvenience that you experienced with the SlingPlayer for your iPhone. I understand that you have a Slingbox (Classic, AV, Tuner) that is working fine, but you are annoyed because the SlingPlayer for iPhone will not work with it. I will be happy to explain some things about it.

We understand your position and frustration, we really apologize if this change bother you. We know that you have been our customer for a long time. You deserve the best from us, that is why we keep improving our technical scope, software, Slingbox, and products. The world is changing and technology is one of the fastest areas. One example of this change is, the digital TV transition.

We help our customers to be fashion, to be proud of what they own. Sling Media is encouraging customers who own these earlier versions of Slingbox to upgrade to Slingbox SOLO or Slingbox PRO-HD to take advantage of next generation software and services.

That is why, we developed a plan to help Sling Media customers to get a new Slingbox Solo or Slingbox Pro-HD, cheaper than in any store. In this plan you enter the serial number, of your actual Slingbox, and it will automatically discount US$50 for the price of the Slingbox that you want.

You will receive several benefits with this upgrade. New features, better performance, more compatibility with devices, be under the complementary support and hardware warranty again, etc. I just mentioned few things, of the lot of improvements that you will get with this change.

Finally; just to inform you, every Sling Media product comes with 90 days complimentary technical support and a 1 year limited hardware warranty.

If your Sling Media product is out of the 90 days of complementary support, but within the 1 year ownership, you can get a Sling Media Extended Care for US$49.99. This will cover your Sling Media product, for technical support and hardware, up to three years from the date of purchase.

On the other hand, if your Sling Media product is not eligible for a Sling Media Extended Care agreement, you can get a single incident of technical support (no hardware) for US$29.99. If you want to learn more about it, you can visit:

Thank you,

Regards,

Jorge
Sling Media


Your comment:

Why did the beta version of the sling iphone app work with all the boxes, and now my AV isn't good enough? Are you kidding me?

 

[mikew]

Another bust for me is the fact that I already paid $30 for the Windows Mobile version. I am certain the IPhone product will not be a horizontal upgrade so, besides forking over $150 for the new hardware, I also suspect that the bulk of the $50 offer will go towards software.

It's a damn shame that EchoStar has such a bad reputation. I see that DirecTV continues to be very tight with not allowing their signal out of your house. As much as I love the whole Sling thing...I wonder how legal it is and how long Charlie will stay out of court with the various programming providers.

 

[Left Field Fan]

Just bought a Hava Gold, no iPhone software yet, but with my Slingbox A/V apparently there won't be one anyway. Rumor is Hava iPhone client by summer. Worth a shot at $55 and rumor is free iPhone App. If no iPhone will just use around the house and I have a new doorstop in my A/V, thanks Charlie.(made my decision easy, he had already helped me choose to switch from Dish to Directv, he is so helpful)

 

[skottey]

Another bust for me is the fact that I already paid $30 for the Windows Mobile version. I am certain the IPhone product will not be a horizontal upgrade so, besides forking over $150 for the new hardware, I also suspect that the bulk of the $50 offer will go towards software.

What's the difference? If you owned Windows and just bought Office 2007 and decided for whatever reason you were going to switch to a Macintosh, you'd have to buy Office again for the Macintosh. It wouldn't be a "horizontal" upgrade. Of course in either event, phone to new phone, computer to new computer, there are going to be costs that you'll say, "hey, I already paid for that once."

Different phone OS = different software.

As for me, since I went from a Windows Mobile phone to a Windows Mobile phone, they (Sling Media) let me keep my software and gave me another key. I doubt they would do that with a newer software on a different phone OS. Accept that if you want to use an iphone, you will be paying for the Sling software, again.

 

[JAG72]

The thing I am wondering about is how will Sling license the software. Will it be a key or will it just be a standard app from the App store that will use iTunes for the licensing. I bet and hope that it will just be the App store without a key.

 

[thowe21]

I am hearing a rumor that the Slingplayer Application for the iPhone has been APPROVED.

The question now if it is improved is when will we see it in the App Store?

I know the DirecTV application was approved in one day however it did not show up in the app store until over 3 weeks later.

Looks like the rumor is false... Apple just rejected the Slingplayer app.

SlingPlayer for iPhone: Another One Bites The Dust? - PC World

 

[sampatterson]

According to the article it say that "Sling says they had no word from Apple yet on the status of their iPhone app." , so not approved or rejected?

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

According to my sources Apple has approved it. These sources are good.

But with that said I guess AT&T can approve or reject appliations which run on its network.

I think that is the issue.