When it comes to gettting content on your device from big media outlets such as NBC, CBS and others its never been an easy task. While new things keep popping up, opening doors for content providers they always seem to be limited in one way or another. Enter Bitbop, which has just brightened the eyes of BlackBerry users (other devices to follow). A part of Fox Mobile, Bitbop is offering a Hulu like experience for BlackBerry users and has signed on some great content providers such as CBS, NBC and Comedy Central and finally, Fox themselves.
While the service is in beta and free at the moment, it has been mentioned that later down the road the service will cost $10/mnth for all you can eat full length TV shows with no commercials over WiFi and 3G. Canadian? Don't bother you can't access it. If you live in the US however, you'll wanna get in on this action while you still can. The service says Bold, Curve 8900 and Tour series devices but I'm sure a few others will work as well if you try em out.
Source: Engadget Via: mocoNews
Reader comments
Bitbop Beta - Bringing Streaming TV And More To Your Device
I installed this on my Tour 9630. The install was a little tedious. You have to register first then download the app. I have gotten one or two shows to work, but mostly it locks up the phone and I have to do a battery pull. The concept is good. Other than the video streaming is not reliable, I like it. I will probably uninstall it since it is so buggy, but I'll definitely check back later.
I was so excited to see this little fun item to add to my Tour. Imagine my complete consternation to have it installed and it doesn't work. Haven't heard anything back from their technical support either. Oh woe is me.
I have a Blackberry 9700 on T Mobile. This app does NOT work on my phone. Wi-Fi, 3G, nothing! I get the white screen of death and when it doesn't blow up my phone I get the error message telling me to get better coverage. Nice try but..............Crap......................
Demo they have running on a STORM 1...
Of course they don't support it... nor the Storm 2...
Tired of the lack of support that the STORMS are getting...
Looks like it time to DROID!
Can anyone point me to a link that will let me download this so I can try it on my 8530? I know it isn't on the supported list and their sote says not supported when I have them text me the link. Btw I already have my browser set as blackberry :) the only reason I want this is so I can stream shows and so far the only site I can useis youtube since no flash support. I do not have access to a computer to download movies/shows so I nedd sites to stream or ota.
If there are other free sites like these please let me know-thanks in advance!
i downloaded this app last night and it works great. Video was an 8. had some problems creating an account though but very nice app.
Does not work on 8530
i like that i can download shows and watch them later. i don't like that it will eventually cost me 10 bucks/month though. i don't think i'll use it then.....
Downloaded on my Bold 9000 and used it while waiting at the doctors office today. Worked well and I'm very happy with it. I'm not sure about paying $10 per month in the future though.
And I've got full signal (3G coverage). Always gives me an error and says try again when I get better network coverage, didn't know it got any better than full bars.
Sounds like the same issue I'm having. I wonder if it's an OS related issue. Which OS are you running? I'm on .643 (OS 5)
Funny - right after I wrote this, it FINALLY started to work!
Downloaded nicely to my 8900, however when i try to stream or download a show it keeps going to no coverage or buffering. when tried to download it spent 15 min on 6% than i stopped it, dont think i will keep this app right now. maybe its because to amnypeople are trying to DL right now dont know.
I wonder if they don't have support for the Storm series because of Verizon's VCast? Everyone knows the Storm is exclusive to Verizon and Verizon already offers some of this programming through the VCast app. The Tour is on both Sprint and Verizon so they can't leave that out necessarily but I notice that there is no support for the newer Curve series either. There may be licensing issues that make it impossible. Either way it IS disappointing to see this.
I have the 9000 it has been working smooth all day. I have watched plenty of shows from my phone. You can even download to watch later. Sports need to be included and 10.00 a month is very expensive. They to charge advertisers and include some ads. I definitely will not pay any money for this. But it does work pretty well on the 9000
What OS are you running? I just keep getting a white screen or an error message... :(
I'd really like to see this app on the storm it check your device and wont allow a download if you try with a storm.
oh well hopefully they come out with one soon
Works great on the 9700. Very sharp and crisp. If you have a lousy connection you can download to memory card for playback later. Great app.
My friends have iphone's and droids I'm always coming up with excuses and trying to protect BlackBerry and my storm, but I'm done, no more. I think this is the straw that broke the camels back. Been waiting and waiting and waiting for an app like this,I got so excited, for what? No support for storm. Just venting, frustrated.
Can't get this running on my Tour. After the "BitBop" splash screen it goes to blank white screen. If I bring up the app switcher and choose BitBop, the white screen then shows an error message which basically says I don't have strong enough network coverage. Full 1XEV and full signal strength. Unistalled/Reinstalled 3 times. Did a live chat with someone from BitBop and they were zero help.
I know other have expressed disappointment that there is not yet support for the Storm. I am also saddened :( but isn't the screenshot for bitbop in this article from a Storm!?
How about a free ad based version. I am so sick of getting nickled and dimed to death by Blackberry apps when my wife gets most of the same apps on andriod for free or 99 cents. With that said I do like the app a lot. It worked well on my 9700 on tmobile via wifi. I live in the sticks so I haven't yet tested it on 3G but will soon see how it works there as well.
it really is embarassing that the slingbox/slingmedia doesnt support the storm/storm 2. what a let down. i could go on a whole rant but its not worth the energy, after waiting and searching for well over a year i am now exhausted with this topic. blackberry should have stepped in on this one, slingbox works great on the iphone, aside from bbm why would anyone want a blackberry, they get no support
I have been waiting for a while now to see a slingmedia app and it does not seem like it will ever happen! I don't really see a need for the slingbox otherwise, IMHO.
I am getting Error Code:P12 when trying to watch it now. It passes the license check and then the buffering starts and ends up with the error message before any video starts.
Anyone else?
I contacted support over Chat and they are about clueless... First they said that i wasn't registered...(joke) Then they told me to uninstall and reinstall... give me a break...
Any ideas?
I know this is beta software, but i havent gotten one video to play yet over wifi on my 8900
and stream through ORB. Orb is free and works fine most of the time. You can record the shows you want from your PC or remotely and watch themn whenever you want. Not to mention access to your video, music, pictures and document libraries.
$10 per month - ppplllleeeeease. For$10 a month you better be bringing me a bear and rubbing my shoulderswhile I watch.
What exactly is the bear for? Do you mean a real bear or a big hairy guy wearing leather pants w/leather suspenders?
But can not interact with anything...O well...guess I will have to wait...
It works great on my 9700. I love the app and have been waiting for something like this. Still though, I dont think I would pay $10 a month for it. It would be awesome if they had a ad supported / commercial version that was free.
Downloaded episodes no problem, but when trying to play it's just Buffering.
For those of you getting not supported even though the app has your phone on the list - Make sure in your Browser Configuration you have your Browser Identification set to Blackberry.
Thank you very much! I am now downloading the app!!
Yes, thank you.
No Storm support again. Sometimes I wonder why RIM even made the 95xx series because developers certainly don't want to create for it.
The website says that the tour 9630 is compatible, but I went to the link on my phone and it says its not supported. What gives?
Get it here for the 9630 http://mojito.bitbop.com/download/bitbop/RIM_9630/1.0.0/raptor-545904.ja...
I'll pay attention to a TV app when they start streaming live sports.
"So sorry, Bitbop is not available." This is what I get after registering for an account, letting them know what BB I use, giving them my mobile # so I can d/l OTA, and then going to the link they sent in a text.
I call FAIL.
I was about to try it but as soon as I got the part where they asked for my phione # I bailed. I never give out my phone number to DL anything, no matter what the user agreement says.
Know too many people that do this and all of a sudden they're getting solicitation calls on their cell, which I have yet to happen to me.
Soo... This app is not supported on the BB with the largest screen... I hate to say this but as soon as something better comes out I am ditching this Storm and BB. I was a huge fan but obviously this phone will never be supported Like I assumed it was meant to be.
Very smooth running app with just trying it out for a few minutes. I'm glad to see it's not one of those apps in beta that crashed my Tour in the past, so definitely check it out and hopefully this will be the Hulu of Blackberry.
downloaded the 9630 version for the 9650 and it sorta works, although when I try to stream direct, it says can't find video... so ???
most of the crap on there i have zero interest in.... typical tv network garbage...
And I discovered Archer. Now my shifts at work will be a lot less boring.
I noticed on my Bold 9700, I had to use the default browser to detect my phone. When I used Bolt or Opera, it said my device was not supported.
How come the screenshot of bitbop beta look like it was taken from a storm. 360 x 480?
Ok figured it out. I had to change my browser user agent from IE back to the default blackberry. Downloading now :)
Hamp I have the same problem as you. Trying to download it on my 9700 and its telling me unsupported. WTF!!!!
It makes me laugh, here is a world wide web application in the world of global communication that cannot be used anywhere but one country.
Yeah and in this screenshot it looks like its from one of the storms
on their facebook page there is a demo video and it shows it on a storm.
http://www.facebook.com/bitbop?v=wall
on their facebook page there is a demo video and it shows it on a storm.
http://www.facebook.com/bitbop?v=wall
Looks like it's an animated demo. For all we know that could be completed animated in a program like After Effects or something just for presentation purposes. :P
"...they always seem to be limited in one way or another." Sounds like this one is too, since there's no support for Storm users (let alone Canadian Storm users). There's always room in the market for another player,if they get it right.
wow i haven't been using my storm 2 for a while now...Jeesh first the free ptt then this ? i don't know when i will be back on my storm 2 but I'm lov'n the tour right now.
Wow. Smooth as butter on my 9630. Not a lot of shows yet. only 45. stream started almost immediately, and the playback isnt choppy one bit. I mean really, im quite impressed. The fullscreen looks great as well. Literally like watching on my computer in standard on like youtube or something.
It works fine for my Tour. Very good quality too. I'm downloading all the TV series to my sd card now so that i can watch it later.
Is it gonna be free forever for us that just created the account now?
Nice app. Can't wait for more content. Don't know if I would pay $10.00 a month for it though.
I have a 9700 which is a supported device but when I go to download it, it say it's unsupported! Live chat support seems to be taking forever even though I'm number 1 in the queue!
This is BS!
Anyone get it to work on the 8530??
I got the not available at this time message when trying to download it.
Me Too! No luck! I'm tired of buying phones that nothing works with when it first comes out. Make sure you click on "My phone is not here" and add the Curve 8530 so maybe they will develop it faster.
geez i'm getting soaking wet from all this "storm" crying. you guys have plentyof storm only stuff. give it time they'll make it for you also.. that touchscreen only device is tricky. cheers
If i could just get it to download, i know it would work on my storm2
And again us canadians get screwed. Man what do those American Broadcast Companies have on Canada. Its not like we've caused them anything like stole their shows before or something?!
a VPN and call it a day, lol.
How do I do that? And btw I was able to make an account and download it just fine but when I launch the application I get an error message saying "We're sorry, an error seems to have occurred. Please find an area with better coverage and try again later." But I have full bars on 3G and my wifi connection works fine. Anyone else having this issue? Btw I have Bold 9000
How can I buy a VPN and use it on my 'berry? Any suggestions?
I get the same exact error on my Bold. Contacted support & waiting to hear back from them...
I'm starting to get a little self-concious about being a Storm2 owner. My next upgrade will not be to a touchscreen BlackBerry, that is for d*mn sure...
Doesn't work trying to work-around for the Storm2 either. Detection won't allow it - even changing browser or going through Bolt.
If somehow we could get the damn app to download, it should run fine,.. even if we have to run it in compatibility mode.
After u create a new account its gonna ask u for the type of model then u select model not listed or whatever.
At the bottom of the screen click on compatible phones. From there click on My Phone's not here. After that you can select BlackBerry Storm and put you e-mail in.
I'm thinking the Storm will be supported later.
This is me holding my breath... ... =)
I might pass out or even pass away waiting.......and waiting.....and waiting........and still waiting.
it works smooth on the 9700
dont even waste your time trying to download...it will come up on your storm as a unsupported device...bummmer... im not made...on to the next!!!!
I can't believe the Storm is the one that is never included in the supported phones, yet is really the only one that you can watch TV on. What a joke.
You can't believe it? I have come to terms about how us storm owners rarely ever get support for applications. I'm still waiting on the sling mobile app for the storm which has been out on regular blackberries for a year now but still no storm support.
If anyone is daring enough to try it on the storm please post your results.
Odd that the BB with the largest screen doesn't seem to make the list. Oh well. Maybe next time.
Did you try it? I'm wondering if it would work at all.
*** no dice.*** btw, I am so glad we Storm owners are so appreciated. I mean that.
Canadians are shafted AGAIN :(
Are you f***** kidding me?????
No #@$@%$!@^$T$$^!^$#^ Storm support?????
What the hell????
I guess the STORM is on the way out...
Lego!
Seems like every app that would work the best on the storm, does not give storm support!
A little choppy on the Tour, but will be a great mobile alternative for Huludotcom