Mobile operator has unveiled its new mobile TV service, which will offer entertainment, music, news and sports programming directly to users through their handsets.
However, the service is only available on certain handsets, with the iPhone absent from the list.
The mobile TV package will be divided into two offerings: the lifestyle pack, which includes entertainment, music, and news from channels such as RTE News Now, CNN and the Travel Channel; and the Sky Sports and news pack, which has live sports and news content on channels including Sky Sports 1, 2 and 3 and Sky News.
The service uses streaming technology and is available on compatible Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson handsets.
"O2 previously trialled live broadcast digital TV on mobiles in 2007 using DVB-H technology. While no commercial licence has yet been made available for the provision of mobile TV using DVB-H technology in Ireland, we already know from the trials which were hugely successful that there is a market for mobile TV," said O2's digital and entertainment category manager Karl Aherne.
The service will be offered to users free of charge for a 30-day trial period for those who sign up before September 9th, 2009. Both contract and pre-pay phone customers can access the service, which will be charged at €1 for a 24-hour pass, with a 30-day pass charged at €5 for the lifestyle pack and €6 for the Sky Sports and News.
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