iPlayer goes 3G mobile

BBC’s iPlayer is to be made available to mobile phone users following a deal between the broadcasting giant and phone-maker Nokia.

From 1st October owners of the new Nokia N96 handset will be able to download BBC television programmes to their mobile phone for up to seven days after broadcast.

Programmes can be downloaded to the handset over a Wi-Fi network, or using the handset’s built in 3G internet connection.

24 G-bytes of storage space on the N96 gives users ample room to store all the programmes they want to watch.

BBC’s Director of Future Media and Technology, Erik Huggers, said the deal is the culmination of eight months hard work by the corporation to make the iPlayer available on as many platforms as possible.

Nokia’s Managing Director, Simon Ainslie, said the N96 will ‘raise the bar’ for what users expect from their mobile phone in terms of audio and visual entertainment.

Downloading iPlayer programmes to the N96 is unlikely to incur data charges as the BBC has promised that all its mobile services will be available completely free of charge.