FLO TV:
--Product: Flo TV personal television
--Features: Accesses 17 mobile television networks, including: ABC, Adult Swim, CBS, CNBC, CNN, Comedy Central, Crackle Movies, Discovery, Disney Channel, ESPN, Fox, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, MTV, NBC, Nickelodeon. Button on the side shows a scrollable programming schedule. Has parental control option. Has a fold-out stand and battery status light. Comes with cloth case and headphones.
--Price: $150 for unit, and subscription starts at $15 a month or $150 a year.
--Ups: Sound and picture are great quality. Battery lasts pretty long, between five and six hours of continuous use.
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--Downs: Don't expect it to be exactly the same as what you see on regular TV. Networks on Flo TV are not always on the same schedule as networks broadcasted on regular television. Prime time shows and cable news are often streamed in sync with regular programming. Flo TV airs many sporting events but doesn't have the rights to air NFL games. Sports fans will have to get their pigskin fix with college football.
--Bottom line: Great option for entertainment on-the-go, but who wants to carry around another device? Flo TV says it is coming out with a version that works on iPhone and Android devices later this year, which sounds like a better option.
KULA TV:
--Product: Kula TV, handheld Wi-Fi television
--Features: Required Wi-Fi connection. Can access TV stations that provide their streaming feeds on the Internet, and currently has hundreds of station options, many of which are from other countries, including some from Latin America. Has clock, calendar and alarm. You can load your own video and music on 2 GB of internal memory, but it also has a micro SD card slot for more storage options.
--Price: Ranges online between $150 and $180. No subscription fee.
--Ups: Has categories to quickly narrow down what you're looking for and divides by language, countries and subjects, such as sports and news. Sound is crisp, and picture is easy to view on the large screen.
--Downs: Battery died in just over an hour and a half of continuous streaming. If you load video on it, not every file format is supported -- for example, videos downloaded from iTunes don't play. And for some reason, the volume is set too loud on videos you save to the device, so you can't use headsets without destroying your eardrums. It sounds fine for streaming stations.
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--Bottom line: This product is not ready for prime time yet. Wait for the makers to get out a few kinks, add parental controls and hopefully sign on a few more quality stations from the U.S., instead of just showing 2-minute clips of shows they misspell, like "2 and Half Man." I'd only recommend it for people who see themselves using it to watch international stations while at home or work, or people who get a kick out of watching another city's local public access television.
