It won’t be long now… The Slingbox portable player is on the way. If you recall, this will let you access your Sling stream via recent Microsoft PDAs and phones (PPC 2003, WM5) using WiFi or your cellular carrier. You can sign up to receive an email when the mobile player is ready for public consumption — or just keep reading the blog.
Still no word on the possibility of a licensing fee. I vote for freeÂ… The goodwill and marketing opportunity trump the few bucks Sling would make selling it. Some retailers have been experimenting with the lower $199 unit price. So instead of officially dropping down from $249 now, how about waiting a little longer until after both the PPC and Mac software has been released to capitalize on additional sales which could offset development costs. Or just write it off entirely since the investments are rolling in.
I’m about ready to trade in my current phone and EVDO card for a 6700 PDA phone which will also act as a tethered highspeed modem for my laptop. So, hopefully I’ll be ready to report on the SlingPlayer Mobile when it drops. (Or before… you feelin’ me, Sling? ;))