In a move that unfairly targets iPhone users, the newly available SlingPlayer iPhone app only works with Wi-Fi connections and is disabled over 3G.
SlingPlayer is a media player designed to work with the companion SlingBox, a set-top device that broadcasts live television to remote users. In other words, the system is like a virtual family room for people to watch one TV over the Internet.
AT&T is worried that the demand for such an application will crush its 3G network and hurt service for other users. By pointing to its wireless terms of service, which don't allow TV signals to be redirected to personal computers, the company forced SlingPlayer to have reduced functionality.
In a statement, the company said it considers "smartphones like the iPhone to be personal computers in that they have the same hardware and software attributes as PCs."
But as Ars Technica and Engadget point out, only the iPhone is being singled out here. Blackberries, along with Windows Mobile, Symbian and Palm phones can all access SlingPlayer just fine over 3G. Mobile traffic is huge on the iPhone, and it seems AT&T is worried what would happen if iPhone users constantly pulled down streaming media over 3G. Nonetheless, these people are still allowed to stream media through other means, such as YouTube.
The long-term solution would be to improve the 3G network so users could access programs such as SlingPlayer. In the meantime, perhaps a change to the terms and conditions is in order, limiting 3G use across all platforms to what AT&T can handle. That way, the company will find out whether SlingPlayer is really a threat to the network (it probably isn't) without discriminating against its biggest customers.
