In a move that will surely piss off many of their customers, Sling Media has just announced that the SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone app will ONLY work with newer Slingboxes! Seems it will work with Slingbox Pro, Slingbox Solo and Slingbox Pro-HD ONLY.
I note here that the beta version of SlingPlayer for iPhone worked fine on older Slingboxes as well as the BlackBerry and Windows Mobile versions. Greed? Maybe. At least they are offering a $50 upgrade incentive for Slingbox Classic, Slingbox AV, and Slingbox Tuner customers. I doubt this will make the owners of these units happy however. I lucked out as I own a Slingbox Pro.
Sling Media is encouraging customers who own these earlier versions of Slingbox to upgrade to Slingbox SOLO or Slingbox PRO-HD to take advantage of next generation software and services that will only be supported when using the most current Slingbox and SlingLoaded products. Future software includes the highly anticipated SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone software launching soon. Current Slingbox functionality will not be affected if you choose not to upgrade, but software like SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone and future services yet to be announced will only be supported for customers using Slingbox SOLO and Slingbox PRO-HD products or forthcoming SlingLoaded products. See the page here: http://www.slingmedia.com/go/upgradeUPDATE Via Sling Community: Looks like Slingbox PRO owners will get the best of both worlds. For starters, the Slingbox PRO will work with SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone, and if you call Sling to inquire about an upgrade, it seems you'll also get to take advantage of the sweet $50 rebate. Omission of the PRO from the page apparently wasn't intentional, and will be corrected soon. I suggest if you have a Slingbox Pro you would like to upgrade, call Sling Customer Service. Sling Media Slingbox PRO-HD is selling for $239.42 with free shipping at Amazon and the Sling Media Slingbox SOLO for $139.95, both with FREE shipping.