Slingbox and the Palm Pre lifeline?

Just a quick thought. With AT&T deciding to stop the streaming of video from one source to another via a Slingbox, does this now open the door for:

1. Apple to leave AT&T due to inadequate network abilities?
2. Apple to wonder why the iPhone has been singled out by AT&T for this type of
discrimination, when "Slinging" is allowed with the Blackberry and the Palm?
3. An incredible opening for SPRINT and PALM to make headway into a little opening
provided by the inadequacies of AT&T?

If the PALM PRE can really multitask, as I expect it can, and can live up to all of
the hype that has been bestowed upon it, then I could certainly see Palm beginning to make headway into this nascent market. SPRINT may have also been dealt a lifeline
with the PRE, if their network can withstand the onslaught of data that may hit them
with AT&T's announcement today.

The SLINGBOX may play a role in deciding if the PRE becomes the player or not? The
blogosphere is alive with people yelling and screaming about leaving AT&T as soon
as they get the chance due to the $30 "unlimited" data plan being "capped" in an
indirect way. If AT&T is really saying that they cannot handle the bandwidth then
that is not saying a lot for the 3G network that they have been bragging about for
past two years.

In turn, this may have an adverse effect on Apple's iPhone and what appears to be the
never ending flurry of rumors that they will release a video camera with their next
hardware update. If that video camera is expected to upload video to YouTube and
other sites, then that will eat up more bandwidth and may cause more strain for
AT&T. But what sits large is the fiber network created by Sprint many years ago.
Either Verizon eats it up and uses it by buying or merging with Sprint or Sprint
becomes a sleeping Dragon and begins to command relevance again with the Palm PRE.

Slingbox may have indirectly opened the door to a shift for some Smartphone users.


LDD.