Back in May, AT&T went through some serious hissy-fits when it came to SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone, going as far as changing their Terms of Service... twice... to block it from their 3G network entirely. Ultimately their efforts worked, which forced Apple to deny any SlingPlayer app with 3G capabilities from the app store. 

According to today's press release, Sling Media had designed SlingPlayer Mobile to conserve wireless spectrum as much as possible, a claim AT&T started testing in December.

Why not back in May? Good question.

Regardless, AT&T has finally flip-flopped for the benefit of the iPhone carrying Slinger, telling both Sling Media and Apple that SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone will now be welcome to use their 3G airwaves.

According to alternate sources, Sling Media has already submitted a 3G version of the iPhone SlingPlayer to Apple for approval. It should be available whenever Apple gets around to adding their smiley-face sticker.

Sharon Rylander at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show

Sharon Rylander, Beta Manager for Sling Media, announced in a farewell letter to the community that she's leaving her position at Sling Media in pursuit of new opportunities.

Through the past several years, passionate Slingbox users have looked to Sharon for information on the latest programs and opportunities to test-drive the latest Sling gear before it hits the public. In many ways, Sharon has been just as important to the community as the community has been to her.

Between the "Channel Beta" Blog she ran here on the site for a while, and helping her coordinate some beta efforts here on the SlingCommunity (before they had a dedicated site of their own to manage their beta efforts), I've been fortunate enough to get to know Sharon pretty well. To say the least, she's the real-deal; kind, professional, and honest. I've always been impressed by her unwavering drive to give Slingbox customers the best experience possible, her desire to really listen to the customer's wishes and feedback, and her willingness to go the extra mile for the Slingbox user.

Quitely shown (but not talked about) at CES in January, Sling Media's just let loose a 2nd generation SlingPlayer Mobile App for Windows Phones. The new player sports a similar UI as the SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone/iPod Touch [review], includes integration with Sling Accounts for easy access to your Slingboxes, and several other enhancements for intended for the latest crop of widescreen, touchscreen Windows Phones running Windows Mobile 6 or greater. Thanks to the nature of Windows Mobile, SlingPlayer Mobile for Windows Phones is unrestricted, meaning it will connect to Slingboxes over both WiFi and 3G connections. 

The new SlingPlayer Mobile officially supportst the Slingbox SOLO, PRO, or PRO-HD, though older Slingboxes may be compatible with certain configurations.

Based on what we've seen, SlingPlayer Mobile 2 may not be the ideal upgrade for certain phones, which is why SlingPlayer Mobile 1.6 will continue to be offered in case your phone doesn't play well with it, or you miss certain features - like the portrait viewing mode. There are a few 'current' phones that behave better with the old version. These include the HTC Touch Diamond for both Sprint and Verizon, the Sony Ericsson X1, and the Samsung Omnia 2.

The new supported phones and other details are listed after the break.

It wasn't mentioned during their press briefing this morning, but Sling Media's got the next generation SlingPlayer Mobile for Windows Phones on display at CES. The new build is strikingly similar to the iPhone client, offering vastly superior visuals and the same finger-friendly interface.

According to staffers, the next generation SlingPlayer Mobile for Windows Phones is intended for touchscreen based Windows Phones, smartphones (non-touchscreen devices) will continue to be supported by the existing client.

I didn't get much hands-on time, but from what I can tell this build is looking good. The UI was snappy and the video quality was excellent. No release date was given, but based on what I saw, I wouldn't be surprised to see this one hit sooner than later.

Think new hardware and support for Android was Sling's big news? It's certainly exciting stuff, but in this editor's opinion Sling's most exciting announcement was dropped at the end of their press briefing earlier this morning. 

In collaboration with Adobe, Sling Media will be upgrading the current supported line of Slingbox products to support Adobe's Flash technologies, namely RMTP and encryptions. As a result, SlingPlayer can be built to run on any device running Flash Player 10, which would greatly enhance both the breadth of devices that can used with Slingbox and the speed at which these can come to market. 

Flash-based SlingPlayer running on the Nokia 5800

During the demo Sling Media's demoed a Flash based SlingPlayer running on a wide range of hardware, including a Linux desktop (in browser), a Sony Playstation 3, and the Nokia 5800 (pictured above). Sling also showed that SlingPlayer can run on popular Broadcom and Intel solutions for Internet connected televisions, meaning that SlingPlayer support can be baked right into the TV.

Sling Media's been in overdrive here at the 2010 CES, launching announcements left and right since yesterday morning. Along with the four new OEM hardware offerings announced prior to today's press briefing, Sling Media's John Paul told press today that a SlingPlayer Mobile software client for Google's Android platform is currently being developed, and hinted that it could be the first to utilize Adobe's Flash technology.

Sling has not shown any demo build of the software, nor given any indication when it may be available. However, just knowing that work is well underway is certainly better than the previous "we're investigating it" line we've heard for the past year. 

More to come from CES 2010...

Sling Media/EchoStar has just lifted the curtain on suite of new Sling products to be distributed through television service providers, giving them the opportunity to offer some seriously cool technology to subscribers. The suite consists of four new hardware products: the Slingbox 700U, Sling Touch Control 100, Sling Monitor 150, and the Sling Receiver 300. Combined, it's everything a TV provider needs to offer customers advanced placeshifting and control in and out of the home. Full details below.

Las Vegas, Nev., USA – Jan. 6, 2010 – Sling Media, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS), today unveiled the Sling Touch Control 100 for television service providers.  The Sling Touch Control 100 is a next-generation, touch-screen device with an interface based on Sling Media’s popular SlingGuide™ electronic program guide.  It interacts with and controls SlingGuide-enabled DVRs as well as most line-of-sight controlled audio-visual devices.  The Sling Touch Control 100 comes in an elegantly designed enclosure, providing a large screen size and extensive battery life.

The Sling Touch Control 100 was selected as a CES Innovations 2010 Design and Engineering Award honoree in the Video Accessories category.

The Sling Touch Control 100’s interface delivers an intuitive and flexible user experience that goes beyond the traditional electronic program guide.  Current on-screen program guides can limit a consumer’s ability to find and view what is really available to watch both now and later.

Las Vegas, Nev., USA – Jan. 6, 2010 – Sling Media, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS), today unveiled the Sling Monitor 150 and announced that DISH Network plans to be the first television service provider to add the device to its product lineup.  The Sling Monitor 150 is a light-weight, portable flat screen display that wirelessly shifts your primary HD DVR video experience to any location in your home, eliminating the need to run cables or purchase a second DVR.

“Television providers now have a unique way to wirelessly extend their customers’ HDTV experience to places in their home where it’s not practical to run a cable such as in their kitchen, home office or workshop,” said John M. Paul, executive vice president of Products at Sling Media.
The elegant Sling Monitor 150 is the only free-standing monitor that can accept a full HD broadcast stream over a WiFi network (802.11).

Las Vegas, Nev., USA – Jan. 6, 2010 – Sling Media, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS), today unveiled the Sling Receiver 300 to television service providers.  The Sling Receiver 300 is a companion product to a SlingLoaded™ set-top box, such as the award-winning EchoStar SlingLoaded 922 HD DVR, that delivers a full 1080i video stream from an HD DVR to any other HD television in a home using the viewer’s wireless home network. The Sling Receiver 300 was selected as a CES Innovations 2010 Design and Engineering Award honoree in the Multi-Room Audio/Video category.

With the Sling Receiver 300, viewers can enjoy the same HD programming that they experience on their primary HDTV on a secondary HDTV in their home without the need to run additional cables or purchase a second DVR.

“HDTV viewers often want to extend their main set-top box experience to another HDTV with minimal hassle and expense,