And now, mobile TV

WATCHING TV has become very "handy," indeed; it can now be done via cell phone.

Hundreds of guests turned up on Thursday at the NBC Tent to witness the launch of myTV--which connects real-time and digital-quality TV broadcast to post-paid and prepaid subscribers of Smart.

myTV is the first mobile service to offer TV shows using a digital broadcast signal.

The catch
It's like having a miniature TV in your hands.

But here's the catch: You must have the Nokia N92 mobile phone

model (given for free if you avail of the P1,800 post-paid subscription plan), and pay an additional P488 a month.

Prepaid subscribers who have the Nokia N92 must maintain at least P489 airtime load every month.

Currently there are 11 channels being broadcast on myTV: entertainment (ETC, Jack TV, MTV, Pinoy Box Office, Cartoon Network), sports (Basketball TV, Solar Sports and the upcoming season of the PBA), news (CNN), documentary (National Geographic) and The History Channel.

At the launch, Smart chair Manny Pangilinan, wearing trendy tattered jeans, hobnobbed with guests, drank wine and thanked his lieutenants for achieving another "first" in innovative telecom service.

On opposite sides of the NBC Tent, six scenarios illustrated how best to enjoy myTV:

- A guy doesn't mind sitting alone in an outdoor café.

- A woman doesn't feel bad that her bedroom has no TV.

- Golf buddies find something more to do on the greens.

- A couple is oblivious to being stuck in traffic.

- Another couple is not bored while tanning on the beach.

- Still another couple doesn't mind waiting at the bus stop.

Uh-oh. What about snatchers?

Another cause for concern is the small screen, which makes certain programs difficult to appreciate, for example, visually detailed scenes in National Geographic.

Even so, myTV is being hyped as "the next must-have" gadget.

Initially, myTV is available in Metro Manila (extending to the North and South Luzon Expressway), Cebu, Davao, Tagaytay, Batangas and Baguio City, with Boracay and Cagayan de Oro soon on its coverage.

A free trial is offered till Aug. 31
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