FLO TV is a new service that streams high resolution Live TV to compatible cell phones and portable devices. Their flagship hardware is the FLO TV Personal Television. The device is a touchscreen handheld device that weighs 156g and is similar in size to an iPhone, with a convenient built-in kickstand. We were initially very impressed with the device when we first got to check it out, but now that we finally got a chance to put our review sample through its paces, we can recommend the FLO TV Personal TV, even though it’s a first generation device.
Set-Up:
The system comes with a Quickstart Guide, but we didn’t need to look at it to get up and running. The device is really simple to use, with an easy to use touchscreen interface and a set of dedicated buttons outlining the side of the device that are straightforward to operate. To get up and running, all you need to do is press the on Power/Sleep Key on top of the device. From there you’re greeted with a Distraction Hazard Warning that warns you not to use the device while driving a vehicle or operating machinery. In the box you get black earbud headphones, a micro-usb connector, a screen cleaning cloth, and an AC adapter.
Design:
The FLO TV Personal Television sports a 3.5″ QVGA (320 x 240) touchscreen display that is nice and bright with good color reproduction. The touchscreen is also nice and responsive, it doesn’t require much pressure to navigate menus, which means that it is most likely a capacitive display. It also features a Ambient light sensor and auto backlight control. Unfortunately, its 320 x 240 resolution is kind of on the low side, and we wish that it had been higher res. Also, we cant help but wish that they had made the display fill the whole front of the device. Instead, there is a thick black border surrounding it which could have been used for more screen real estate. You’ll also end up using the screen cleaning cloth that comes in the box, since the display quickly fills up with fingerprints. However, our review unit didn’t come with the cleaning cloth, but the FLO TV product page lists it as coming with a unit.
The device’s dimensions are 112 x 78 x 13.4mm, making it very comfortable to slip into a bag and even a pocket. The built in adjustable stand is very thin and barely adds any bulk to the device. Instead, it is very convenient as it lets you rest the device on a table without having to hold it. The stand is adjustable up to about 90 degrees. You can leave it resting at a 35 degree, 80 degree angle, or any angle you choose without a problem – the stand will keep the system sturdy. Volume control is located along the right side of the device, along with a 3.5mm jack above it and a dedicated mute button below it below it. On top of the device on the left is a battery indicator button. When you press it, the 4 dots next to it will light up to show you how much battery life is left in the device. On the right, the power/sleep key is located. The battery is not removable. And you can charge the device with the included microUSB connector which you can power through a computer’s USB port or an outlet.
User Interface:
For a first gen device, the user interface on the FLO TV Personal Television is done superbly well. It’s uncluttered, straightforward, and compliments the touchscreen perfectly. To switch between channels, all you need to do is swipe up or down. Pressing the Guide Key on the right side of the display brings up the TV schedule. You can swipe, right, left, up and down to see what’s on at different channels and different show times, just like you would on your cable box. The schedule system is indeed like the one you’re using on your cable box. The UI also lets you search for shows playing at a certain time, you can also set reminders for certain shows that you don’t want to miss, you can also adjust the brightness of the device (which means you can probably conserve some battery life), and finally, you can even set parental controls by setting general rating limits, or blocking certain channels altogether. By looking under Device info you can also check the battery percentage level, as well as the signal strength. In our office in Manhattan, we were able to get an average 79% signal strength.
Audio:
The TV has a set of stereo speakers inside of it which are pretty powerful for such a small device. The speakers manage to get pretty loud while still producing clear audio without much static at all. The back of the device is where the two speakers are located – one on each side of the back of the device. The audio can get loud enough to listen too while you’re cooking in the kitchen.
Performance:
I tested the device in Las Vegas city center, Manhattan, and Queens. In each city, I was able to pick up most of FLO TV’s channel without a hitch. Channels streamed in clearly with mostly no stuttering. Occasionally a channel wouldn’t be available or some channels would take a moment longer to load than others, but generally signal reception was very good with the channels mostly popping up right away. Some channels also notably looked better than others. For example, ABC seems to be one of the best channels in terms of picture clarity.
As much as I’m embarrassed to admit it, it is kind of fun watching Jersey Shore on the device – and I guess at a smaller size, that annoying Snookie is more tolerable… However, we did notice that when the device is laid flat against a metal surface, you’re not able to get any signal. Our guess is that if you lay it down on a metal surface, the metal must be blocking the signal from reaching the device. Also, we tried using the device in a moving vehicle. When the vehicle was moving, the FLO TV was pretty much unusable, with tons of stuttering and choppiness. If you want to take advantage of FLO TV when traveling, your best bet is probably with FLO TV’s automotive device which is designed specifically for vehicles. This is however a bummer, since we would have loved to have used the FLO TV device for commutes.
Channel Lineup:
The current channel line up includes most of the big stations – ABC, MTV, ESPN, CNBC, nickelodeon, NBC2GO, Fox News, FOX Mobile, the Food Network (a bonus for those who may have lost it recently), ESPN Mobile TV, the Disney Channel, Comedy central, CNN Live Mobile, and CBS mobile. FLO TV promises that they will continue to build the channels with more additions. Unfortunately, many of these are indeed mobile versions of the big networks – and not actually the same regular channels that you would get on your big TV. i.e. CBS Mobile, CNN Live Mobile, etc.
Conclusion:
Currently, FLO TV coverage is available in most major cities and areas, but you’re best off checking the FLO TV coverage map before you sign up. Overall, we are very impressed with the FLO TV Personal Television. For a first gen device, it works pretty much bug free. The device is well made, channels stream in very well, the user interface is simple and a pleasure to use. Overall, it delivers as promised. We can’t help but wish that you could use it as a PMP as well, so that you could put video files on it for times when you’re in an area without reception, or nothing is on TV that you want to watch. That way it could potentially replace our PMP altogether so we could avoid carrying so many devices. We’re also not sure how many people will be willing to pay the monthly fee for FLO TV at a time when people are ditching their Cable subscription altogether. We’d also like to see a bigger channel line-up, but FLO TV says that they’re working on that. And we’d love to see a DVR function which would let you record TV shows directly onto the device just like your TIVO does for your TV at home. We hope that these features make their way to FLO TV down the line, because they’ll certainly make the device even more compelling. But most of all, we’d like to see a bigger higher res display on the device.
We’re especially excited about the Mophie iPhone accessory that FLO TV announced at CES. This accessory will add FLO TV to an iPhone, which sounds like a much better alternative for iPhone users than having to carry around another device. In meanwhile we can see plenty of folks who would appreciate this as a gift. We’re sure that Mom would love it in the kitchen and that plenty of college students would love it in their dorm, ultimately the list can go on and on. If users can look past the fees, FLO TV does deliver as promised. The FLO TV personal television retails for $249.99 and comes with 6 months of service. After 6 months, it costs $8.99 a month which is actually reasonable.
The Good: Great reception – TV stations stream in without a hitch (in areas with good coverage), device is super easy to operate with an intuitive touchscreen based user interface, display is bright with good color and system also produces good audio
The Bad: Practically unusable in moving vehicles, display resolution is only 320 x 240, monthly fees are never fun