TV on the go

There’s a device out there just to watch television shows on. And I don’t mean the television. A device is made every month catering to a specific type of media. Netbooks are laptops that focus primarily on Internet access. The TwitterPeek only lets you access Twitter. Now FloTV let’s you watch television shows on a small 3.5-inch screen.

In case you’re uncertain, that’s small. And you’ll have to be willing to dish out $250 for the first six month and an additional $8.99 a month after. And you have to commit to 3 years of service. Buyer beware. This is technology, which means that in a year something better will have come along. After all, an iPhone was $500 two years ago and the new iPhone cost $200. In another two years the iPhone should drop even further in price.

The best bet for someone looking to watch TV on the go is to spend the same amount of money on a netbook. Then you’ll be watching TV online with the option of also being able to check your e-mail, do some online shopping or finishing up work for your job or your class. Even better, if you take into account how much money you would be spending per month for something like FloTV maybe you might want to save up a few months and spring for an actual laptop, which is another technology that has become much cheaper as the years go by.

A Toshiba laptop actually costs as low as $449. If you do the math on FloTV you have to pay $250 to buy the device and for the first six months and then another $270 for the next three years. Now you’re saving $70 and you have a fully functioning laptop.

A lot of these one-note devices will become obsolete in a few years if not a few months as the technology becomes so commonplace that the price drops.