There’s no Starbucks in Fairfield, Iowa, home of Pocket PC magazine, so I can only dream of sitting at a table, ordering a strong cup of “Wi-Fi,” and whipping out my Pocket PC to watch a live broadcast of MSNBC news.
Initially, the great attraction of the Pocket PC was that it let you bring your personal information with you all the time. But with the increasing introduction of Wi-Fi “hot spots” and high-bandwidth data capability via mobile phone networks, a new era is dawning—the era of “anytime, anywhere media.” In this new age of PDAs, you’ll be able to use your Windows Mobile device to access Internet “streaming media” sites to watch TV, movies, and videos, as well as listen to Internet radio stations—all via Windows Media Player.
“Streaming media” refers to transferring of audio or video data over an Internet connection in a continuous stream so that it can be played as it comes in, without having to wait for the entire file to be downloaded. This lets you click on a link and start listening or watching almost immediately.
Streaming media portals
There are now Web sites with a wide variety of streaming media content tailored for the small screen of the Pocket PC.
PPCVidz.com (http://www.ppcvidz.com/small/smallindex.asp) is a contender for the site with the most video content, and includes hundreds of music videos, movie trailers, short films, movies, and commercials, as well as links to live TV, news, webcams, and more. Much of the content is free, but some, mainly the movies, requires a subscription. The various plans range from $4.95/month to $50/year. The 117 live TV stations include links to broadcasts from over 30 different countries. There are 40 for the U.S. alone.
PPCVidz lets you stream video content to your Pocket PC’s Windows Media Player.
PocketPCMedia (http://www.pocketpcmedia.nl) is another excellent streaming media site for the Pocket PC that offers a wide range of content, such as gadget news, Web TV, Web radio, and short movies. Both PocketPCMedia and PPCVidz host some of their content on their own sites but also give links to streaming content on other sites. PocketPCMedia is based in the Netherlands, so you’ll find a number of the links to Dutch sites. But there are ample links to English language sites, including most of the content featured on the home page.
PocketPCMedia offers a wide range of streaming media content for the smaller screen of your Pocket PC.
The dozens of video clips seem to be mostly music videos. The trailers section includes clips from forthcoming movies, as well as those new on DVD and top rentals. The nearly 50 short movies include comedy, action, sci-fi, horror, animation, and drama. You can see the entire listing or sort the content according to genre.
Microsoft’s WindowsMedia.com (http://windowsmedia.com) is also rich with streaming content, both free and for-a-fee. Free content includes streaming radio and movie clips. The directory of Internet radio stations found on this site is especially useful.
Other streaming media formats
In addition to Windows Media Player content, a number of sites offer streaming media in MPEG and other formats.
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