Softbank Group, the TV Bank Corporation, on 28^th December 2009 had announced their TV Mobile, which is the one-segment broadcasting TV tuner application for iPhone. Soon it will be available at the Apple’s App Store (Japanese version) for 1,000 Yen (approximately $11, for unlimited access and usage) or users can also download and try for free with certain limitation.

This new add-on one-segment TV tuner device provides digital TV access through Wi-Fi network, enabling live channel broadcasting directly to iPhone devices. For example, this application can be set to stream live TV channel from the tuner over the Internet to a distance iPhone by using a local Wi-Fi router. So this application will allow users to watch digital TV from their iPhone devices once successfully connected the one-segment digital TV tuner with their iPhone via Wi-Fi or Internet connectivity.

The entire communication between the iPhone with the one-segment broadcast tuner is in a unique form of encryption, including to transform the wireless LAN for transmission over the iPhone 3G/ 3GS devices.


This application obviously gives the iPhone users to stay connected wirelessly when watching their favorite live channel once the network connection is established or they are within the Wi-Fi enabled zone. This application’s service is only restricted to be used under the Wi-Fi hotspot coverage area but not the 3G cellular network and this moment the connection only supported in Japan country.

Besides these, this application is believed to drain the battery faster when streaming and watching the live channel on the iPhone, so there is a backup USB battery pack as the additional power source to let users have extended three hours time on watching their favorite channel on the go, without interruption.

Information via impress (Google translated from Japanese version).