We've heard quite a bit about Sling Media's SlingModem prior to the company's aquisition by EchoStar, and still saw it on display at the Consumer Electronics Show back in January. Since then, however, news on the Slingbox/cable modem hybrid has been non-existent.... at least until now.

In a press release from EchoStar this morning, EchoStar Technologies LLC (a subsidy of EchoStar Corporation... formerly part of DISH Network) announced that its entering the cable industry with the CableLabs Certified® DOCSIS® 2.0 SlingModem at CableNET® in New Orleans, La.

From what we can tell, nothing about the SlingModem has changed since the last time we saw it. Check out the gallery for photos of the SlingModem.

The real story here is EchoStar's desire contribute to the enjoyment of television services for consumers in general, whether they get that television from cable or satellite. Sling Media had always been operator agnostic, and it's refreshing to see EchoStar carry on that tradition.

According to the release, the SlingModem is the first of many products EchoStar is working on for the cable industry. It will be interesting to see what else they have in store for cable operators, and if those operators seem poised to adopt the former satellite-focused company's products.

Full press release:

Englewood, Colo., May 14, 2008 — EchoStar Technologies L.L.C, a subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS), today announced its entry into the cable industry with the introduction of CableLabs Certified® DOCSIS® 2.0 SlingModem at CableNET® in New Orleans, La. Earlier this year, EchoStar Corporation™ spun-off from DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH), retaining its set-top box business and certain infrastructure assets. EchoStar purchased Sling Media last fall and is now pursuing OEM relationships with cable operators worldwide.

The introduction of the SlingModem demonstrates our operator-agnostic philosophy, as well as our dedication to the cable industry,” said Sling Media CEO Blake Krikorian.

We are firmly committed to becoming the vendor of choice in the cable industry, leveraging decades of systems and manufacturing excellence,” said Mark Jackson, president of EchoStar Technologies. “We are excited to announce our first cable-ready product at the annual Cable Show, where we can meet face-to-face with industry veterans looking for innovative solutions that will reduce churn and increase average revenue per user.”

SlingModem is one of Sling Media’s newest place-shifting devices, combining a DOCSIS 2.0-certified cable modem with the award-winning and innovative features of the Slingbox™. Cable subscribers can use the device as a traditional DOCSIS cable modem that includes the added benefit of built-in Slingbox functionality. By connecting SlingModem directly to a coax cable input or set-top box, subscribers can receive live or recorded television on any Internet-connected device. SlingModem is easily installed through a single coaxial cable, eliminating the need for additional home networking connections.

EchoStar enters the cable industry with a strong consumer electronics background in innovative and intuitive products, including state-of-the-art, award-winning DVR set-top boxes and value-added features such as Sling Media’s placeshifting technology. EchoStar’s set-top box veterans have more than 35 years of experience in engineering, manufacturing, product development, and end-to-end systems.

SlingModem is the first product from EchoStar and will be sold to cable operators. EchoStar is working on a variety of other products and services for cable operators to be introduced later this year.

The Cable Show is an annual convention for members of the cable and telecommunications industry to gather for networking, training, and discovery of new products. The Cable Show, sponsored by the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA), takes place May 18-20, 2008 in New Orleans.

Sling Media today released three updated versions of SlingPlayer Mobile, notching each respective version up a tick. SlingPlayer Mobile for PocketPC (1.6), Windows Smartphone (1.6), and Symbian S60 (1.01) are each available for download now at SlingMedia.com.

A full list of improvements and changes is currently unavailable, but we do know that this update touches on several areas. Known changes include:

• Added support for additional handsets (Nokia N95 8GB, Samsung i760, Treo 500v are some examples)
• Improved video streaming quality on select handsets (Sprint HTC Mogul is an example)
• Added support for additional set-top boxes
• Additional channel favorite logos
• A few under the hood tweaks

Better video streaming on the HTC Mogul stands out as an interesting improvement, which is done by offering a new rendering mode that is selectable in the SlingPlayer Mobile settings area.

Current SlingPlayer Mobile customers can get these upgrades free, while new customers are offered a free 30 day trial before needing to pony up the one-time $30 (USD) fee. Sling Media also offers a SlingPlayer Mobile client for Palm OS, and Symbian UIQ and Blackberry support is expected to be available later this year.

Download/try the updated SlingPlayer Mobile software for your mobile device:

SlingPlayer Mobile for Pocket PC v1.6 | SlingPlayer Mobile for Windows Smartphone v1.6 | SlingPlayer Mobile for Symbian S60 v1.01

During the 2008 Consumer Electronics show Sling Media and Echostar showed off a new government coupon eligible DTV converter box for the US digital TV transition. Much of the basics were covered in this article around that time, but now that coupons are starting to show up in mailboxes across the country, folks are looking for an update on the status of this little box.

Thanks to a tip from from community member Malouff and a status update from Dave Zatz over at Sling, we've finally got a bit more to share about the TR-40.

No doubt timing is the first thing on people's minds, and according to Dave the TR-40 is still slated for a June delivery, and appears to be coming along nicely despite undergoing a few changes from what we saw in January.

The biggest change comes to the form factor and style of the physical box itself; now shrunk down and much more appealing than the bulky gray box we saw on display. As you can tell from the pics below, it's come a long way in the looks department.

Then...

Now...

Also on the list of changes is the name... TR-40 isn't exactly the most exciting way to describe any electronic device. So, it's been aptly renamed to the Echostar/Sling Media DTVPal. If you're on an antenna, surely this little box would instantly become your best friend when the analog air waves dry up.

Whether or not the DTVPal has gotten any changes under the hood is still under wraps, but was told more will be unveiled as it gets closer to launch.