Can't say what the iphone implementation is but have been using tomtom on my WinMo phones for a number of years, currently on a Tilt and it works great - does seem a bit pricey from what I paid a few years ago. i don't get how this works without multi tasking though and I have no idea what adderz is talking about, never really had a problem with multi tasking on the Tilt, though while driving its prolly not a good idea to be texting, etc.

On WinMo when the phone rings the GPS screen switches to phone. the map of was included and the only data plan usage that i got was traffic info. expensive solution, sure could have bought a stand alone device, but for me i travel a lot and having to bring along only one device is very useful and never considered $9 a month for the ATT solution, now that is a rip off.

As soon as I noticed this new "advantage" I did a cost per movie analysis over the last year (easy to do since those records are online). Essentially this was a hidden price increase, at least for my family and the way we used the program. I was a Netflix customer for many years but switched to BB when they started Total Access and it worked great, I got the movies that I like in the mail and my kids (teens) came with me to the store and got their movies, since the local BB was right near our food store it was an easy trip once per week. At the time the cost was about the same as Netflix (per movie). Now, the cost per movie is a lot higher unless I make an extra trip to BB to accelerate the turnaround - if the BB store was on the way or near work, fine, but its not and is way out of the way.

So I switched a few weeks ago back home to Netflix and have taught my kids how to use the Watch Now on Netflix and our Xbox 360. At the moment they think its kinda "kool" though sooner or later they will realize that the Watch Now Library is somewhat limited and not be as kool as they do right now but heck I pay the bills.

Now that I am back I remember that Netflix clearly has a deeper library and as I added the movies from my BB queue to the Netflix queue, it was shocking how many movies were available compared to the Very Long Wait on BB.

Anyway I will pay attention to what BB will do in the future and who knows I may return. I have no problem with them trying to figure out what business model is the most profitable for them but then again I have to look at what the most cost effective way for my family as well. In this case, at least for my family, Netflix is a better deal.

As with all these decisions it comes down to personal/family reasons. My recommendation is to try both of them - there is no long term commitment so you have nothing to lose.

For my family (me and two teenage daughters) the decision to move from NF to BB was easy. For many years we were a NF customers but when BB started the in store program we tried it and fell in love with it. Why you may ask - Compare BB to NF +/- for us are:

+ While I don't mind the online movie selection, my kids prefer the store; it also helps since we have very different movie tastes. Since the local BB is on the way to the food store its no big deal to exchange. If you really want new releases in store, go there on Tuesday afternoon. Given that we exchange every week, the actual cost per movie is a wash compared to NF.

+ My kids enjoy the two coupons we get each month which they use for Xbox 360 games

-/+ Delivery is all about geography, and I personally did not notice any difference between the two, I generally get movies in 1 day. If you try both of these for a few months each you will get a good idea about delivery times.

- NF clearly has a much deeper library, though I have noticed an improvement in BB lately, they are still behind. My queue is about 100 so obviously this is not a major problem for us.

+/- I have not noticed any big different about long waits for new movies between the two; though with in store exchange I can't think of anytime we did not get to see a new movie since we could just as easily get it in store. So this would be a + if you live near a BB store.

- Clearly NF is light years ahead of BB in VOD though this has to be down played for us, lack of a large library and crappy audio keeps me from moving back. I did try a NF trial recently and I liked it a lot but; call me a snob if you wish but to me, audio is just as important as video for most of the types of movies I watch and in this case NF has some technology stuff to get this sorted out. I will say that if NF finds a way to dramatically improve VOD library and fix the audio and BB does not follow this inevitable trend I would likely go back to NF since this would essentially eliminate the in store exchange advantage the my family loves.

As with all gadgets its a matter of personal choice and uses. I have been Slinging since the original, now upgraded to the Pro long ago. Being a news/sports junkie I have Sling on almost everyday on my second screen in the office. I have only one TV in my place in the living room but even there I have used Sling often (see the commercial about the kid playing the XBox and Dad wanting to see the game on? that's me sometimes). I used to travel a lot for business (not as much now thank goodness) and used my Sling often in the hotel/airport as well. As for the phone (Tilt here) not often but when I do it works ok for news/sports - not too sure about other TV which I have not really tried, just can't see watching a 2 hour movie on that screen. Bottom line no matter where you are as long as you have internet you have access to your entire AV system - TV, PVR, Audio.

I use both the Bose (the original and damn old now but still work fine) and the Shure in ear. They both work just fine and it really depends on what I am doing and where I am. I do a lot of flying and no one can tell me that the noise canceling phones don't work - they do great on a plane. Yeah another thing to figure out how to jam into my carry on but once the routine is figured out its no big deal. I see all the newer models that I have not tried out and are cheaper than Bose so when/if my Bose dies I will. Most other times, such as in the car (I use my Tilt for my music/tv etc) or in the gym the Shure in ear do a great job as well and would not put on over the ears in that case anyway.

But lets get real, most of us have crappy MP3 music on our players so how good is the sound really going to be anyway? Since the 8 gig cards came out I have put some lossless songs on my player but the reality is most of the music is not high quality so not sure spending more than $100 makes any difference anyway.

Simple answer: NO

I moved to BB about 1 year ago simply because I like the in store exchange. I'm currently a 4 movie renter - which in effect gives me about 30 movies on average per month which works out to about $1.16 per movie. In addition we get two coupons for free in store movies/games that my kids like as they get to try a bunch of games (Xbox 360). I recognize that Netflix has more selection but to be honest I don't feel constrained and my queue is about 90 movies and I am able to keep that full with new movies every Tuesday. Since my BB store is right near my food store dropping off and getting new movies is just not a big deal.

Why not?

- No HD (deal breaker)
- Only stereo sound (deal breaker, I'm not a snob but i have a decent audio system and I believe the sound is just as important as the HD)

I would expect those two items to be updated in the future and I might revisit my decision then.

I have tried all the download/streaming options (have Tivo, Xbox 360, Media Center) and I just don't see the "WOW have to have" yet - though again I believe this will all improve over time and someday I can see having some sort of "box" in my entertainment center. From my non scientific testing I believe the I Tunes is the best so far (no I'm not a fanboy and don't own an I Phone or any other Apple product - love it and hate it at the same time I'm a Win person for now).

In conclusion I'll take my BR DVD that works wonderfully on my HD TV/5.1 Audio System and wait for the WOW factor from one of these download/streaming system.

Not sure I agree with all you said. This will be a very rough recession but what is likely to be hurt more are entertainment outside the home, like a restaurant or a vacation place - I would not want to be Disnyland next year. People tend to stay home and will still seek entertainment so DVS' TV, Music, Games will not be hit as hard as other segments of the economy.

I am NOT saying the Movie segment won't be affected and DVD's/Rental will likely decline next year. And I am NOT saying this is either good or bad for HD in general and BR in particular - we can all debate this till the cows come home but it seems to me HD is about 10% of the market right now and who knows what the bad economy will do to that number next year - I just hope is higher than now.

I would hate to confuse the debate with facts, but let take a peek at them anyway.

2007 Consumer purchase of movies was $23 billion (decline of 3.1% from 2006) of which purchases were $15.4 billion (decline of 3.3% from 2006) and rental was $7.5 billion (decline of 2.2% from 2006)

2008 is expected to drop another 5%, but some of that will be offset by BR (expected to be about $1 billion) and download (also expected to be about $1 billions though I have not seen how much of that download is HD content though the Netflix CEO said BR is less than 10% of his customer base). Even if BR and/or downloads grew by 100% in 2009 they would still represent a small part of the Studio profits - so from a Marketing $'s point of view they will not abandon the physical market anytime soon. Anyone who understands a little about business would understand this.

This excludes TV shows that have a much different revenue/profit model.

We all should root for a faster growth of HD - regardless of which you are a fan boy of. Heck I would guess most of us can get our HD content in more than one way - I have a BR player, TIVO, Xbox and VOD.

WHAT WE ALL WANT IS MORE AND MORE TITLES - BOTH NEW AND LIBRARY AND THAT WILL NOT ACCELERATE UNTIL ALL FORMS OF HD DELIVERY GARNER A MUCH BIGGER SHARE OF THE OVERALL MARKET. THE NUMBER OF TITLES RELEASED EACH WEEK IS LIMITED TO WHAT THE MARKET WILL BEAR WHICH FROM WHAT I CAN SEE IS ABOUT 10% OF THE MARKET. THE REST OF THE ARGUMENTS ARE REALLY JUST SILLY FAN BOY STUFF.

Interesting interpretation of the data, the reality is the following information that I read recently on vidoebusiness website:

2007 total consumer spending on purchasing DVD's was about $15.3 billion and on rental about $7.5 billion, a decline of about 3.1% from 2006.

2008 is expected to be flat to dropping 5%. According to them HD sales will be about $1 billion and download/streaming consumer revenue lf about $1 billion. With Apple and now others pursuing HD download/streaming this will help a bit get more new and library movies on some form of HD format. In the end those of us with HDTV's want more content regardless of the way it is delivered

Hardly a market that is doomed in 5 weeks - that would be a terrible holiday season indeed!
All this dwarfs the $8 billion the theater revenue and is a significant profit driver for just about any movie/tv series produced by the movie industry.

I apologize for confusing the debate with facts.

If TIVO HD gets this right i would seriously consider buying it and switching out my Comcast STB. Being a TIVO fan for years it was a hard transition to the Comcast HD STB - which works and is adequate but just not what I like and was used to. I still have my TIVO Series II hooked up though I now use it only as my Slinbox connection when my kids are watching something of no interest to me (which most times is true - teenagers) on the Comcast box. I can watch my sports and other stuff on my computer.