Monsoon, makers of the HAVA placeshifting line, announced they’ve got a Symbian S60 client in the pipeline. The free software is expected to enter beta by the end of June, shooting for a fall release. However, take the timing details with a grain of salt… as their Windows Mobile client has been in beta well over a year.
Being a placeshifting free agent these days, I tried applying to the beta but they’re not quite ready for applicants – my email inquiry to hava-s60@monsoonmultimedia.com bounced.
S60 is a solid platform (I love my N95) and something Monsoon has to hit to be competitive with Sling’s mobile offerings, but Nokia’s Linux tablet (N800/N810) appeals to the geek in me on a much different level. So I’m especially interested in checking out that recently annouced flavor of HAVA client. I wasn’t able to track it down at CTIA, but we’ll see what I can do through PR channels.
I think Linux is the next major platform Sling needs to tackle (given Symbian UIQ is in beta, Blackberry has been announced, and iPhone is known to be under investifation). Hopefully core work can be shared between Maemo (Nokia’s tablet OS), LiMo, and Android. I’m personally excited about Android, and would hate to have to give up SlingPlayer Mobile.
Of course I say all of this for myself, and not as a Sling employee, yadda yadda…
Android will be an important platform, but a desktop or Maemo Linux client won’t move enough Slingboxes or HAVA boxes to matter in my opinion. Though, like I said, it does appeal to the geek in me. (The current Slingbox WINE port works reasonably well on decent hardware…)
After seeing the Android Screenshots and videos released today, Its 100% confirmed that im switching to Android when the first touchscreen/qwerty model comes out. I’ll leave slingmobile behind if they dont get rolling with the linux desktop/phone port!
FYI I’ve been informed the HAVA S60 email address is now functional and the application can be found here:
http://www.myhava.com/s60beta