Broadly speaking, iPhones aren’t just for the primary purpose of making calls wirelessly. Ask a user personally and you’ll get varied reasons for why they purchased one. “I want a touchscreen phone so I could play games like Angry Birds and Temple Run,” someone might say. “I’ve been into iTunes for a number of years now so I need a phone I can sync to my account,” another may quip. Some use it for taking photos on the fly and posting them online for others to see; while some use it for contacting clients through business VoIP services. Many a people have turned to Apple for varied purposes.
For big television watchers, however, it’s fairly common for them to watch TV shows on their iPhones, all thanks to apps from TV networks, cable TV companies, and online TV providers. TV addicts now have a lot of options to view video content on their phones with only a Wi-Fi or a 3G data connection needed. There are free TV services and subscription-based services from both local cable providers and internet TV providers. With these things in mind, here are a number of apps suitable for watching TV on your iPhone.
Hulu Plus
If you’re in the US (or Japan), a Hulu Plus subscription can let you watch full season episodes of current hit programs that aired on TV, back seasons of selected TV shows, and a wide selection of movies anytime on you iPhone. This acclaimed service gives you unlimited instant TV screening for only $7.99 a month (which you can cancel anytime) with limited advertising. The dedicated app that subscribers can download on the iTunes App Store supports 3GS and later versions of the iPhone 3GS. For those who want to try it out first, there’s a one (1) week free subscription for every signup.
HBO GO
As long as you’re subscribed to HBO and a participating cable company, you can watch great shows like The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire on your iPhone by downloading and installing the HBO GO app on your iPhone. Keep up with over 1,400 of your favorite shows and never miss an episode again! No need to stay at home near your cable box – just a Wi-Fi or 3G connection would suffice.
XFINITY TV
Comcast subscribers can download the XFINITY app to their iPhone (iOS 4.3 and above) to enjoy content from networks such as HBO, Starz, Showtime, Cinemax, and more. Aside from the TV viewing pleasure you can get from it, you can find content from a list customized by area, genre, network, format (HD or not), and price, among others. Browsing titles couldn’t come close to XFINITY’s friendly user interface. Best of all, you can change channels on your TV using your iPhone or schedule your DVR remotely using your phone when you use this app.
While it’s true that nothing can match TV viewing on humungous television set, sometimes you’re just bored while stuck at the airport, or you can’t make it home just in time for 30 Rock, or you want to relive the final moments of Smallville Season 3. So you carefully take out your iPhone and let it do the rest using these TV viewing apps for the iPhone.