Mobile TV without a hot spot

Roy Furchgott's "App of the Week" feature in the November 5, 2009 New York Times highlighted the 1Cast app for iPhone and Android handsets.

Works nicely on my iPod touch as well.

Free, the way we like it.

Here's the Times item.

•••••••••••••••••••••••

Mobile TV That Needs No Hot Spot

Getting TV news on your phone is a tricky business, as most mobile broadcasters require a Wi-Fi connection. That’s not really mobile TV, that’s hot-spot TV.

The only broadcaster I’ve found that transmits junk-free news not only by Wi-Fi, but also over a 3G network, is 1Cast.

It will even work over a 2G network, if that’s all you can pick up. The free app is available for both iPhone and Android handsets.

The app can be customized to search for videos on topics of your choice, although figuring out how to do it is not easy. To create a custom channel, or “cast,” you have to click on favorites in the toolbar at the bottom of your screen, then click on the plus sign in the upper right hand corner of the screen. Then you can create a search by topic.

Search results are uneven. I created a motorcycle cast and got some accurate responses, like the story of a company building an electric bike, as well as some that were rather off-base, like several stories about terrorism (granted a terrorist may have used a motorcycle in those stories, but still).