Sprint Unveils Movie Download Service

By Ed Oswald, BetaNews

December 12, 2005, 11:33 AM

While some have questioned the viability of full-length video content on small screens, it appears that Sprint Nextel is concerned with none of that. The wireless provider on Monday launched a new service that will allow its cellular users to view full-length television shows, movies, concerts, and specials.

Sprint has called on MSpot, a California-based mobile entertainment company founded last year, to provide the service. Subscribers with compatible video cell phones will be able to add the feature to their wireless plans for an additional $6.95 uSD per month.

However, don't expect first-rate movies at launch. Sprint says it worked quickly to get the service up, and the initial movies are what the wireless carrier could get the rights to first, such as "Night of the Living Dead" and "Short Circuit" from 1986, the most recent movie currently in the catalog.

Additional movies would appear at the rate of about seven per week, according to the company.

The question remains as to whether consumers will want to view movies on screens that are not usually bigger than 2 or 3 inches.

"Despite that interest and the suitability of video as a mobile task, however, there have been a few hurdles that have plagued adoption," Jupiter Research analyst Michael Gartenberg wrote in October after the launch of the video iPod. "Most notably, they come down to three issues; form factor and battery life, which are both consumer priorities in mobile devices and most importantly, the lack of legal video content."

Apple offers content for the video iPod through the iTunes Music Store, however it is on a per-download basis. Content from ABC and NBC properties including hit shows Law and Order, Desperate Housewives, and Lost are available for $1.99 USD each.

Sprint has said that it would allow for users to view content from the MSpot-based service in segments. The company said research showed that users do not spend long periods of time viewing videos on mobile phones.