Brian, thanks for the TiVo Rewards Referral!

Three press releases from Sling Media hit my inbox this morning - one for the Symbian SlingPlayer Mobile, one for the SOLO, and one for the SOLO and PRO in the UK. I’ll share those below.
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While the official announcement is supposed to come later today, the website for the Palm Centro from Sprint is already live. According to the site, it will be available on October 14th for $99.99 after $100 mail-in rebate, with new activation and a two-year service agreement with a minimum $25 data plan. It is billed as “The world’s smallest Palm device” and it will be available in gloss black and a shiny ‘candy apple’ red, both with silver highlights. If previous reports are correct, this is a CDMA/EV-DO device running PalmOS Garnet with similar features to the Treo 755p. Picked up from Engadget.

Yes, that’s right, even more Sling Media news. Following-up last night’s Slingbox SOLO announcement, this morning Sling announced the release of SlingPlayer Mobile for Symbian Series 60 phones. Sling has had Symbian support for a while, but only through the mobile provider ‘3′ in the UK. This new release is open to users of Series 60 devices on any network. In North America the official support is for the Nokia N95, N75, and E65 and overseas it is for the Nokia N95, N73, E65, and 6120. However, it may work on other Series 60 devices.

This standalone release also includes features not found in the 3 network version - WiFi support and a full-screen landscape mode. Check out the Sling press photos for examples: N75 portrait, N75 landscape, N95 portrait, and N95 landscape. I wasn’t able to try this out for myself, since I don’t have a Symbian phone. I really did consider picking up a Symbian phone just to try it - then I saw the prices. I’ll have to leave that to the sites with deeper pockets and stick with my Treo 680 and SlingPlayer Mobile for PalmOS.

The new Symbian client is available in the US for USD$29.99, Canada for CAD$34.99, and the UK for £19.99.

But before you drop coin on it - there’s more! Sling is working with Nokia to provide SlingPlayer Mobile to all US-purchased Nokia N95s - FREE!

And, as I was checking the site while writing this post, I noticed that Sling has made wide-spread changes to their website overnight. The downside is that some of the links in my old posts are broken now, but such is life on the web. The SOLO is now up on the site, as is this new Symbian SlingPlayer Mobile. Interestingly, the Slingbox Tuner is no longer on the site - except in the store. That’s the best evidence yet that it is being phased out and they’re just selling off the existing stock.

On December 1, Sharp will introduce a DVR/Blu-ray recorder in Japan with a 1TB hard drive for 300,000 yen (~$2,615). It will be able to record up to 127 hours of HD content. This will be the high-end model in a lineup of nine different Blu-ray recorders that Sharp will introduce in Japan by year’s end.

From CNET News.com.

It turns out the FCC leak of the Slingbox SOLO information three weeks ago wasn’t too far in advance, as today Sling Media officially announced the new box. What I couldn’t say at the time was that I had, and still have, a pre-production unit at home that I’ve been trying out. Now Sling told me I can talk about it. I’ve been told the official press release will hit Thursday morning, so I’ll post that when I get it.

The new SOLO slots into the product line between the AV and the PRO. Updating Sling’s own product feature comparison table:

The SOLO is also Sling’s first simultaneous international launch - it will be available in the US for USD$179.99, Canada for CAD$199.99, and the UK for £129.99. The UK model is slightly different from the US/Canadian model, having a different IR chipset and the inputs are set for the UK’s 50Hz video frequency instead of the North American 60Hz refresh. The SOLO’s $179.99 price falls right between the AV & Tuner’s $129.99 and the PRO’s $229.99

The Slingbox SOLO is basically a Slingbox AV with the addition of component input, pass-through connections and a USB port. The rear of the unit has an IR blaster port, component video (Y, P_b, P_r) in & out, S-Video in & out, composite (RCA) video in & out, audio L/R (stereo) in & out, USB, Ethernet, and power connections, as well as a reset button. The unit ships with a Quick Start Guide, power adapter (which is not compatible with older Slingboxes - do not plug an old SB power brick into the SOLO, or vice-versa), Ethernet cable, remote control IR cable, and a composite A/V cable (composite video & stereo audio). The UK model will reportedly also come with a SCART to RCA adapter. You’ll have to supply your own S-Video or component cables.

The USB port is currently ‘For Future Use’ and Sling isn’t saying what that will be. When I first saw the unit, and in my earlier post, I speculated that it might mean SlingCatcher functionality was incorporated into the unit. However, having had more time to think about it, I doubt that is the case. The SlingCatcher will ship with a remote - the SOLO does not. Also, the SlingCatcher has HDMI and digital audio output, and the SOLO does not - which would make it a lower quality Catcher. I now believe the USB port is most likely meant to support a USB WiFi adapter in a future update, in the same way TiVo does. Only time will tell, of course.

As you can see from the photos, the SOLO is almost entirely glossy black, with red highlights. It is a very nice looking unit. Click on the images for a larger version:

Note that while the SOLO has multiple video inputs it, like the AV, is meant to control just one input device. There is only one audio input. However, as with the AV, you could connect devices to the other video inputs. Devices that don’t need audio, like a security camera, are simple. But you could also connect other devices if you share the audio input with Y-cables. You just need to make sure only one device is active at a time so that you don’t have multiple devices feeding audio to the Slingbox at the same time. But note that this is not officially supported or endorsed, and the IR blasters that come with the unit only have two emitters. If you need to support multiple devices, the Slingbox PRO is a better option. (Right now you can get a special Slingbox PRO and Sling HD Connect Cable Bundle for only $189.99 from Buy.com.)

Speaking of the PRO, Sling is finally launching a version for the UK. It will be £199.99 and it includes the HD Connect cable. The built-in tuner in the UK model will support DVB-T.

My personal impressions of the SOLO are all positive. It is a nice looking, solidly built little box, and it performs as advertised. I’ve been using it with my TiVo Series3, mainly the component input, and it works just as I’d expect. I’d say it is just as good as my Slingbox PRO in encoding and streaming video. It has all of the functionality of the other Slingboxes, as far as the software goes. If you already have a Slingbox, there is nothing in the SOLO that would indicate a need to upgrade - unless you could use the component input. But if you’re looking to get your first Slingbox, the SOLO is definitely worth a look. If you only have one device to connect and you can take advantage of the component input, or having the pass-through ports would make your wiring job easier, then the SOLO is the right box for you. If you don’t need the component or pass-though, the AV is probably the best choice. And if you need to easily support multiple devices, check out the PRO.

The major online retailers don’t have the SOLO listed yet, and it isn’t even in Sling’s own store, so I’ll post links to purchase it once it goes up.

EDIT: The Slingbox SOLO (SB260-100) is now available from Amazon.
EDIT 2: BestBuy.com has it now.
EDIT 3: Buy.com has it now as well.

Remember the Sling Meda cable modem the FCC leaked in August? Well, now Cable Digital News is reporting that it has been certified by CableLabs. This is according to sources, but perversely CableLabs may have confirmed it has at least been submitted for testing:

A CableLabs spokesman declined to comment, noting that Sling Media had requested the R&D house not disclose the vendor’s certification status.

If there was no product and it hadn’t been submitted for certification testing, then there wouldn’t be any certification status to not disclose. QED.

With FCC approval and CableLabs approval, Sling should be clear to bring the product to retail. (I do love the circular nature of the web - the Cable Digital News article links to my earlier post as an example of the previous FCC reports. Nice to see it was ‘thoroughly detailed’.)

And, in other news, SlingCommunity.com sat down with Sling’s Blake Krikorian to discuss the EchoStar buyout and more. It is a good read.

And I have some more big Sling news - but it deserves its own post.