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Imagine watching your live local news or favorite area sport teams while thousands of miles away from home - across the country or even on the other side of the world - on an Internet-connected PC or desktop computer. A company called Sling Media has been offering such a capability through its Slingbox gadget (see top picture) since last June. That service is now available for PDAs and mobile phones.

Here's how it works:

Slingbox plugs into a television, enabling users to 'placeshift' cable, satellite, or digital video recorder (DVR) signals to another location via a broadband Internet connection—all for a one time fee of $250, with no monthly service charges. The idea behind placeshifting is it gives the end-user total control over their digital content; something proponents of DRM technology and fledgling - yet proprietary - mobile TV networks (movie studios, record companies, operators, etc.) aren’t too keen on.

The mobile version of SlingPlayer, the software that allows a laptop, for example, to receive Slingbox signals is out only for Windows Mobile for Pocket PC 5.0 and 2003 Second Edition devices. So owners of smartphones with touch screens like Palm's Treo 700w ( Verizon Wireless) or Sprint's PPC 6700, for instance, can now receive live broadcasts from their home televisions via Wi-Fi or cellular broadband connections—both Verizon and Sprint use EV-DO 3G networks. ( A full list of compatible devices is available on the company's Web site. )

Support for Windows Mobile Smartphones, Microsoft-based handsets without touch screens and more limited features overall, is due in the next month.

SlingMedia asserts its new mobile service basically delivers the home television experience to consumers handhelds. For example, it supports video-on-demand, pay per view, and the ability to record, pause, and fast forward live TV, or even queue new recordings for DVRs.

"SlingPlayer Mobile has arrived and we are thrilled to offer this amazing new piece of software to our loyal customer base," said Blake Krikorian, co-founder and CEO of Sling Media. "SlingPlayer Mobile delivers the complete home TV experience on any compatible Windows Mobile device and works with your existing Slingbox. Best of all, we are making it available for free for a limited time so if you are thinking about becoming a Slingbox owner, now is the perfect time."

Those who purchase and register their Slingbox before April 26th will receive a free license. After that, SlingPlayer Mobile will sell for $29.99.

SlingPlayer Mobile requires sustained network speeds of 112 kbps and the faster the data connection the better the video quality, according to SlingMedia. The company has tested SlingPlayer Mobile with successful frame rates up to a full 30 frames per second on many Windows Mobile devices as well.

For devices with rectangular displays (240 x 320 or 480 x 640) , the software supports full-screen viewing in landscape mode. This means devices like the Treo 700w, with increasingly popular square displays, will leave some blank space at the top and bottom of their screens.