Why is the world+dog hell bent on getting me to cast aside the 100 million inch HDMI 1080i screen that has higher quality than my eyes can detect in favour of watching TV on mobile phone.

It seems to be a irrational need by the tech industry to develop and market TV on your phone, despite the multitude of reasons for it being impracticle.

1) If i am on the move, then generally, i am on the move... i.e. looking where i am going.

2) Staring a screen the size of a fly's big toe, gives me a headache.

3) Try getting a signal (any signal, wifi, WIMAX, 3g, GPRS any ) consistently for any tube or train journey ... just not happening.

Give up with the phone and tele combo... its a phone.. and that is a tele.

Bravo, well said. I'm all for progress but I don't remember ever being alone and so desperate for something to occupy myself that TV on my phone would have been desirable.

Works great in Japan and South Korea. Probably due to the all work, followed by all drinking life styles, you need to cram that little bit of TV whilst on the commuter trains, also need somewhere to keep your hands visible so no one thinks you're dodgy.

We got three problems in the UK

1) Awful low bandwidth network coverage particularly when on the move

2) An obsession with shinny stupid tiny phones that look like Japanese sex aids, making the screens an arse to watch.

3) Nothing good to watch, the best thing to get such a move started would be major sporting events (I hate most sports btw.) You gotta have stuff people want to watch _NAOW!_ Which when even terrestral TV seems to repeat everything 3 times a week isn't that much of a concern.

But then even if you had prime time sporting events, rubbish tiny phones and rubbish tiny bandwidth = DO NOT WAAANNT, may as well watch the 82nd repeat in 10 hours instead.

While a typical phone screen is too small, there's a lot of stuff I'd be happy to watch on anything iPod Touch size or larger while sitting on the train (where, let's face it, unless you have a table seat using a laptop to do anything involves some very interesting angles).

There's still a lot of TV out there where the picture doesn't matter too much.

However, I'd much rather a podcast / RSS style model over OTA streaming - i.e. just as I can set up a playlist of unlistened to Radio 4 broadcasts.

Anyway, the point of this story is more about using Android to standardise the application platform across multiple devices - it's more of a benefit in being able to re-use skills and libraries - we do tend to confuse Operating Systems and app platforms (mainly because Microsoft and Apple also do so) - and while Linux may be everywhere, we do need a higher level of standardisation than the OS (whether it's Qt or Android).

Been looking at some HD video on a prototype touchscreen phone with a decent sized panel, its much better than I was expecting to be honest. And phone has an HDMI out socket to plug in to your TV when at home...nice. Phone could also record HD to microSD card from the camera. Now that IS good. (720p)

Didn't expect to like it, but certainly watchable.

This is about a big screen STB that runs Android and can sync media with your phone - handy if you want to watch your DVDs somewhere other than your own living room (i.e. the phone will most likely have HDMI-out). That you can also watch them on the small screen is an added bonus - and because they are in HD format then the quality would be pretty good even on the small screen.

You don't *have* to watch videos on your phone if you can hook it up to the screen.

Won't it be useful for showing people the pictures and movies you have taken *with* the phone.

Some people can't even vacantly navel-gaze without having to remind us all that they've got no use for their navel.

As a previous AC wrote: "the point of this story is more about using Android to standardise the application platform" - well noted, my anonymous but intelligent friend.