Of course we’ve they’ve been developing an iPhone and iPod Touch Slingbox client. In fact, it’s been brewing for several months and was one of the reasons I originally jailbroke my phone, although we ultimately decided not to install the software given the number of events and people I encounter.

What we’ve got here is a technology demo and a stake in the ground: SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone. As it is, the current application is an amazing technological achievement (given Slingbox’s Windows Media Video broadcast) and the team has done a great job with the initial UI. Going forward, Sling’s got an interesting decision to make (which may not entirely be up to them): Continue down the jailbreak path or get legit with the SDK and iTunes App Store (including hefty Apple kickbacks). But Jobs has said no to “bandwidth hogs,” so Sling may have to limit connectivity options (to WiFi - a non-issue with the current EDGE model) for a store blessing.

No word on timing, but if I were driving I’d put a time bomb on this alpha software and release it as part of a Sling Labs initiative (along with Blackberry, SlingPlayer 2.0, etc) to fire up the community and sell Slingboxes. Though, they’ve heard that suggestion before…

It’s been one amazing adventure after another, but I’ve made the very difficult decision to leave Sling Media for an exciting new opportunity. I’m grateful for having worked with such a talented and dedicated group on a product lineup I care deeply about. Before joining Sling, I was both an ethusiastic customer and blogger - I fully expect that to continue well beyond my period of employment as they continue to innovate (God-box, Cacther, PRO-HD, SlingPlayer 2.0). Sling on!

Here’s the round-up of my Dish Team Summit Nashville trip tweets (with pics) over the last few days (minor edits for accuracy) in chronological order:

• Forgot to print Southwest boarding pass last night, now stuck in mid-B group. Should be good enough for an aisle, but open seating is weak. (5/14)
• Downloading Deadliest Catch via TiVoToGo for flight. Hope it finishes transferring before I need to leave. (5/14)
• Firing up Deadliest Catch (TTG) and off to Nashville. (5/14)
• Building booth @ Dish Team Summit, Nashville http://snipurl.com/28yn6 (5/15)
• Popcorn Hour media tank @ the breakfast table. http://snipurl.com/28z8p (5/15)
• Hootie, Blowfish, and crappy iPhone camera @ Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. http://snipurl.com/292qp (5/15)
• Gaylord Opryland Resort Internet is horrible. Both hardwired and WiFi feel like dialup. Sprint EVDO card struggling too. JoikuSpot next? (5/16)
• TR40 renamed DTVpal and shrank 50% - http://twitpic.com/14i3 (5/16)
• Not only do I write, I can even speak - http://twitpic.com/14kd (5/16)
• D-link’s MoCA networking and media gear - http://twitpic.com/14o2 (5/16)
• Western Digital now offering USB Dish My DVR Expander (in addition to TiVo eSATA drives) - http://twitpic.com/14qj (5/16)
• Dish Network STB TV2 output getting UHF->IR converter. (Slingbox!) - http://twitpic.com/15xc (5/17)
• SatelliteGuys.us host Charlie Ergen Q&A - http://twitpic.com/16jn (5/17)
• Too tired for The @CableShow, so most definitely leaving Nashville for home tomorrow. Expect pics & news on EngadgetHD and from @msilbey (5/17)
• Weak. Nashville Airport Security sponsored by Zappos.com - http://twitpic.com/175k (5/18)
• Wiis in stock at airport. ONLY as a $500 bundle. I’m calling Miyamoto to complain. - http://twitpic.com/176d (5/18)

I’ve received a few questions asking if I’ve seen the new Sling television commercial. Uh, hello? Yes, of course I’ve seen it! And you can too (without actually watching TV). We’re also running an amusing seasonal radio spot. Click the play button to check it out:

(Unfortunately, my poor Terps closed out the last few weeks of the season with a whimper and are headed to the NIT.)

I pretty regularly find myself in locations where I just can’t function - there’s no network drop, the connection is poor because it’s being shared with dozens of high bandwidth applications, I’m a guest and the LAN requires a local user account, etc. So, I’ve been keeping my eyes open for the right EVDO router. I’ve played with a few models including the Kyocera unit we picked up for CES - only to discover it doesn’t support the two current cards we have… which led to a somewhat disappointing luncheon demo at the Wynn. (The unit’s since been returned.)

A few weeks ago I ended up presenting in a conference room without Ethernet (you’d be surprised how often that happens) or public WiFi, but the hosts offered us a pre-release CradlePoint MBR1000 EVDO router for the afternoon - if I could figure out how to make it work. In less than five minutes I had it unpacked, configured, and feeding my devices via a Sprint EVDO card. I was sold.

The MBR1000 started shipping this week and, as you can see from the pictures, mine’s Sling’s arrived. It retails for $250, but we got it $30 under list via Solid Signal. Not only will this be useful for work, it’ll provide broadband to one of our apartments during the upcoming move and two week overlap. Pretty critical - as I work from home and don’t know how my Comcast migration will play out…

Click thumbnails for a larger view:

Notice any familiar billboards in Burnout Paradise?

Those who’ve been reading ZNF since my early TiVoToGo tutorial days should remember my fondness for the Dr. DivX video conversion utility. I’m not sure what led the DivX folks to kill the original app, but every now and then I find a use for the re-released open source version.

At work, we’re hooking up with Simply Wireless in the DC region and we’ve apparently had a difficult time getting promotional video clips running on some inherited kiosks. I offered to swing by and check out the gear since I’m local… My intention had been to feed some suggestions to those heading up this initiative, but a quick transcode of two unidentified MPEG variants and a WMV file using Dr. DivX was all it took to enable video playback. Do I get the rest of the day off?

Of course, I’m biased. In fact, I may actually have been the guy who named this product - prior to joining Sling. Whereas a Slingbox is desgined to transmit video content, the SlingCatcher is designed to receive video… and display it on your TV. No mere media extender, Catcher is the only product that will receive a Slingbox feed and display it on a television (locally or remotely) with no computer in the mix. We’ll also stream audio/video from your PC, such as Netflix Watch Now or Hulu, to the TV. At CES, our product manager Matt Feinstein described SlingCatcher on camera quite a few times. So check out some of those videos and come back with your questions.

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