LG
U900

The LG U900 DVB-H phone was the world's first commercially available 3G (UMTS / WCDMA) DVB-H capable handset. DVB-H was a broadcast standard that allowed TV to be transmitted to mobile devices. The phone was released by 3 Italia, a subsidiary Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., to coincide with the rollout of DVB-H service in Italy, also a world first. The LG U900 had a 2.2-inch TFT LCD rotating display screen with 262k colours. It was able to offer up to three hours of continuous TV broadcasts, even while travelling at high speed. It used a low-power digital TV tuner chip designed by Microtune to support the DVB-H broadcasts. Three Italia had purchased the exclusive DVB-H broadcasting rights for the 2006 World Cup and this phone allowed customers to watch the games on the move via Hutchison’s content channel ”La3” in June and July 2006. The LG U900 DVB-H phone was a significant milestone in the development of mobile TV technology and helped to pave the way for the development of more advanced mobile TV services in the years to come. Sadly, DVB-H phones never really took off in the European market due to high prices and limited availability of DVB-H handsets. As a result, DVB-H was eventually discontinued by most mobile operators. However, the LG U900 remains an important piece of mobile TV history.