FLO TV Personal Television

At this week's CTIA show in San Diego, Qualcomm's FLO TV division introduced the FLO TV Personal Television, a dedicated device that uses a service that's already available on some phones.

Justin: You’ve heard of eReaders, like the Amazon Kindle, and now there’s eTV for people who like to watch instead of read. This week’s CTIA show in San Diego QUALCOMM’s TV division introduced the FlowTV personal television, a dedicated device that uses a service already available on some phones. Michael: It is a true portable personal television you can carry around with you and watch Flo TV, virtually anywhere you are. It’s a 3 and a half inch touch screen device, it's got integrated speakers as well as a built in adjustable stand for true hands free viewing experience. Justin: Flo TV can carry as many as 20 channels of digital and include news, live events, sports and entertainment and children’s shows. It’s broadcast over a dedicated network that uses former analog TV channels. You can find out what you’re watching just by tapping on the screen and change channels just by swiping your finger. There’s also a program guide to show you what’s on and you can set the TV to remind you when one of your favorite show is coming up. The strip on the LED’s on the top of the device shows how much battery life is left and there’s a headphone jack for private viewing. There are also parental controls accessible with a four digit pin. Flo TV was introduced in 2007 on some Verizon phones and is now available through AT and T and on in car entertainment systems made by Audiovox. But because the phone has other things to do, it interrupts the broadcast when a call comes in. The personal television is for that pure uninterrupted TV watching experience. Michael: This device isn’t a phone so it’s got up to 5 hours of television viewing battery life, 300 hours stand by, and you can hand if off to a spouse or to a child and not worry about missing any phone calls that may come in on your phone. Justin: QUALCOMMS says the Flo TV personal television will go on sale at US big box and online store in time for the yearend holidays. With a suggested retail price of 249.99, it cost to watch to. Flo TV expects to offer plans starting at 8.99 per month depending on how many months you buy and how many channels. But if you rather catch the big game, and read the last thriller, TV in your hand maybe just the ticket. With reporting by Steve Lawson in San Diego, I’m Justin Maisinger, IDG News Service.