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What's the best smartphones for watching web video?By Sindre Lia, 15 August 2008
One of our readers wants to watch online videos through a smartphone. Let's find out what's required to get the good stuff streaming.

Reader's question:

I currently own a BlackBerry Pearl 8130, but which smartphones will let me play web videos such as Windows Media videos? Wendall

Editor's answer:

Right now, there's unfortunately no optimal solution for watching web videos on a smartphone. However, if you wait a few months, things will start happening.

When Microsoft's new Internet Explorer Mobile gets released this fall, it'll include plug-ins for Windows Media (as part of the new Silverlight plug-in), Adobe Flash and H.264/MPEG-4 AVC. Most of the existing owners of Windows Mobile 6 smartphones will probably get this upgrade for free, and all new Windows Mobile smartphones will offer it out-of-box.

Another new mobile browser, the Opera Mobile 9.5 for Windows Mobile, will likely also offer the same plug-ins when released to the public late this year or early next year. Among the first devices to support it, will be the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 and HTC Touch Pro, as well as other touchscreen-based Windows Mobile smartphones. Opera also plans to make this browser available to non-touchscreen Windows Mobile and Symbian S60 smartphones in the future.

When speaking of Symbian S60, Nokia is also currently implementing the Silverlight plug-in in its own Mini Map mobile browser for Symbian S60 smartphones. Likely, they'll roll out Flash and H.264/MPEG-4 AVC plug-ins in the same package.

Whether RIM, or Apple for that matter, is planning to implement video plug-ins in its mobile browsers is currently not know. According to Microsoft, Silverlight will support Mac OS X, but not BlackBerry OS.

So, unfortunately it doesn't look like you'll get Windows Media support in your BlackBerry browser anytime soon, though RIM could end up including a Flash plug-in for its browser when rolling out BlackBerry OS 4.5 later this year (we don't know for sure). As a BlackBerry Pearl 8130 owner, you may be lucky enough to get some of the new BlackBerry OS 4.5 features, though it's not written in stone what old models will get specifically.
Best Smartphones
Name Score Price Carrier
C
Nokia N95 8GB NAM 83% $450Unlocked
Apple iPhone 3GS 83% $200AT&T
Sprint Hero 81% $180Sprint
Motorola Droid 81% $200Verizon Wireless
HTC Droid Eris 81% $100Verizon Wireless
Apple iPhone 3G 77% $100AT&T
RIM BlackBerry Tour 77% $200Verizon Wireless
HTC Touch Pro2 77% $350T-Mobile
Sprint Tour 77% $200Sprint
HTC Imagio 77% $200Verizon Wireless
HTC Tilt 2 77% $300AT&T
RIM BlackBerry Storm 2 77% $180Verizon Wireless
RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700 77% $200AT&T, T-Mobile
Nokia E75 76% $380Unlocked
Nokia E71x 76% $100AT&T Wireless
Sprint Touch Pro2 76% $350Sprint
Samsung Intrepid 76% $150Sprint
Nokia N97 75% $650Unlocked
RIM BlackBerry Curve 8900 (T-Mobile) 75% $200T-Mobile
RIM BlackBerry Curve 8330 (Sprint) 74% $200Sprint
T-Mobile G1 74% $180T-Mobile
Palm Pre 74% $200Sprint
Samsung Jack 74% $100AT&T
RIM BlackBerry Pearl Flip 74% $10Verizon Wireless
T-Mobile myTouch 3G 74% $200T-Mobile
Click here to see full and advanced chart »
 
 
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