Jonathan Shattuck

William Bridges wasn’t planning to replace his wet cell phone last week with one that offers television service, but the Soddy-Daisy man liked what he heard.

In fact, he liked what he heard about the service from a television commercial, from a friend in Dallas and from a sales associate in the AT&T store on Gunbarrel Road.

“It looked neat,” Mr. Bridges, 28, said. “I was very impressed.”

Chattanooga became one of just 58 U.S. markets in which AT&T rolled out two devices with mobile television capability last week.

“We pushed hard for it in Chattanooga,” said Arlie Mimbela, area retail sales manager. “Now, we’re ahead of the game.”

The Vu by LG Electronics and the Access from Samsung Telecommunications America offer television through dedicated multicast network MediaFLO USA. They also feed content to cell phones, cameras and MP3 players and offer Web browsing and video-sharing capabilities. The video-sharing capabilities will be available locally in October.

Most people are still unaware of the new devices, said Christina Dumas, an associate manager at the store, but they come in, watch them and are intrigued.

Customers like the fact they can be watching a television program at home and be able to take it with them when they leave, she said.

Jonathan Shattuck, a retail sales associate, sold the first four handsets at the Gunbarrel Road store. He said the buyers were in their 20s and 30s, but he had significant interest from older customers as well.

Staff Photos by Tim Barber -- Justin McGrady looks at an LG Vu mobile television handset at the AT&T retail store on Gunbarrel Road.

“It’s the simplicity of it,” he said. “It’s easy to use for anybody. The easier it is to use, the broader audience you’ll appeal to.”

Around 150 simulcast or time-shifted television programs, plus live sporting events, are available around the clock through FLO TV, including “CSI-Miami,” “South Park,” “The Colbert Report,” “The Late Show With David Letterman,” “Bones,” “The Hills,” “30 Rock,” “Hardball” and “SpongeBob SquarePants.”

PIX, a contemporary movies channel, and CNN Mobile Live are exclusive to the AT&T devices. In addition, for the next two months, AT&T Mobile TV service will include CNCRT, a concert channel that will air, every day for 24 hours, one of approximately 30 recently recorded concerts from artists such as Avril Lavigne, Chris Brown, Fall Out Boy, Jay Z, Sheryl Crow, Akon, Daughtry, Lenny Kravitz and Rage Against the Machine.

Mr. Bridges said he didn’t know what shows were available on the devices when he walked into the AT&T store, but the fact he could watch them away from home was appealing to him.

“That it was not pre-recorded TV sold me,” he said.

Mr. Shattuck said, as of Friday, he had sold three of the VU handsets and one Samsung.

The Vus, he said, have a 3-inch touch screen, while the Samsungs have a 2.3-inch screen, push-button access and a brighter screen.

Since the television transmission reception is fitted to the size of the handset’s screen, it has perfect clarity, Mr. Shattuck said.

“MediaFLO has done its homework,” he said. “It’s a true experience of what you have on your home TV.”

Both devices come with hand- and car-chargers, case and Bluetooth headset, Ms. Dumas said.

“They’re very comparable in features,” Mr. Shattuck said. “Sometimes, it comes down to brand preference.”

Local AT&T officials said the Mobile TV phones are likely to go the way of all personal technology.

“Four and a half years ago, the first camera phone came out,” said Mr. Shattuck. “Now you can’t find one without it.

“Right now,” he said, a phone with a “media player is the hottest thing.”

“As with any technology,” said Ms. Dumas, “it won’t be along until every phone will have TV.”

The LG Vu is available with the extra equipment for $369.99 with a two-year service agreement after a $100 mail-in rebate, while the Samsung Access is $269.99 with the extra equipment, same service agreement and mail-in rebate.

The handsets also are available without the equipment for $299.99 and $199.99 (inclusive of rebates), respectively.

Monthly charges for Mobile TV begin at $15 for a package that includes unlimited access to the TV service and the limited-time concert channel. A broader package for $30 a month includes unlimited access to the TV service, the limited-time concert channel, unlimited mobile Web browsing and e-mail, unlimited data usage for downloading music, games and ringtones, and unlimited mobile video (when available).

A limited package for $13 a month provides access to four channels: CBS Mobile, FOX Mobile, NBC 2Go and NBC News 2Go.

Because AT&T Mobile TV operates on MediaFLO USA’s own dedicated network, customers do not incur data or voice charges.

Verizon and Sprint also offer various handset television packages.