Sling Talks iPhone Streams

Sling Media has actively discussed the possibility of streaming media to its upcoming iPhone, the former company's CEO Blake Krikorian revealed this week during a speech at the NAB expo in Las Vegas. The executive declared that he would "love to support" streaming iTunes music and video to the cellphone, which would likely involve routing a computer's iTunes library through a Slingbox media streamer, which could then send live content directly to the iPhone through a customized version of SlingPlayer Mobile. The option would effectively overcome the memory limitations of the Apple handset by exposing the user's entire media catalog.

Krikorian was reluctant to elaborate on how talks were progressing or what the exact solution would be, saying only that he anticipated the possibility of coding for the device in the near future.

"There's been some talk about whether it's going to be a closed device or... open, or whether they'll phase [software development out]," he said. "I think it's going to be up to them to see when (streaming) might be available. But I cannot comment any more than that."

Apple was unavailable for comment on the subject.

Sling has aggressively pursued support for Apple TV streaming for the Slingbox, hoping to make its device a gateway to the Apple jukebox software for cellphones. This solution poses less of a challenge to Sling, however, as compatibility for the Apple TV media hub would not require a software layer beyond basic infrared codes for full control.

The Sling CEO argued that the attempt to link with Apple's expanded electronics range was simply a reflection of company strategy. "Our whole goal is turning every single display into your living-room TV," he added. "I don't really care what network it is or [what] device it is."

By Electronista Staff