Flo TV Mobile Personal Televsion Costs $249.99, Requires a Subscription Fee, and Only Shows TV Shows. Hmm…

Image courtesy of Amazon.com

I’d don’t understand the marketing logic behind this product release at all…

FLO TV Unveils its New One-of-a-Kind Digital Handheld Television

Amazon.com lists its price at $249.99 and does not have an availability date. The PTV 350 has a 3.5-inch QVGA touchscreen. It requires a Flo TV subscription to watch programs. Subscription prices range from $14.99 per month (monthly payments) to the equivalent of $8.99 per month with an introductory 3-year $299 plan. Its only function is to display Flo TV’s considerable commercial video programming which includes channels such as CNBC, Comedy Central, MSNBC, and Nickelodeon.

At this point I don’t understand the attraction of buying a relatively expensive device (at $249.99 it costs more than a 16GB iPhone 3GS) with a required monthly fee (I’m guessing most people will opt for the introductory one-year $119 plan that works out to about $10/month). Wouldn’t most people opt for an iPhone or some other smartphone that can deliver video (though not necessarily name channels like Flo TV) and tons of other useful functions (like making voice calls or browsing the web)?

Who’s the target customer for this thing?

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