Qik had already been available on Android, but when you bring a monster like the Droid into the mix, it warrants a rewrite -- and that's what the company has put together this week. Qik's new Droid-specific build brings a wealth of new features into play, chiefly Android 2.0 support and an impressive 720 x 480 streaming video resolution, perfect for the Droid's expansive display and 5 megapixel (albeit questionably usable) camera. The version also includes an improved version of what Qik calls the "Speed Sharing Ribbon," an area at the bottom of the display that allows users to drop frequent contacts for sharing recorded videos. There's no word on when the new version hits Droids around the nation, but it's already in an invite-only beta stage, so hopefully it'll be available soon enough. Follow the break for a quick video of that wild 480p support in action -- you ready for the data onslaught, Verizon?

Get enough Netflix / Microsoft synergy yet? We hope not, since that Netflix queue manager for Windows Mobile showcased during Steve Ballmer's CES keynote is slicker than we thought, with an exclusive streaming video preview feature. Whether DVD or Instant Watch that should add some enjoyment to your Netflix browsing, check out a YouTube demo after the break or just go ahead and download the app for yourself.

[Via My Philly Network]

Perhaps looking to get a quick hit of cash before the onslaught of competing services gets into full swing, MobiTV has announced a deal with Oak Investment Partners, a venture capital firm, to provide $70 million in exchange for a board seat. No word on what kind of spending spree will ensue, but MobiTV's saying that the cash will "fuel the Company's rapid expansion in response to the overwhelming demand for its mobile television and radio service across international markets." To their credit, the numbers show that these guys are growing pretty rapidly, clocking over a million total subscribers at latest count -- not bad for a company whose domestic carrier partners have launched at least partially competitive services. Having sampled MobiRadio, though, we'll say this much: we hope a few bucks of that VC cash goes toward offering higher-bitrate streams.

[Via BusinessWeek]

After hitting the Pocket PC scene, Sling is making good on its promise to port its SlingPlayer Mobile to other platforms -- if you call Windows Mobile Smartphone a different "platform," that is. (We don't.) Given the dearth of 3G Smartphones on the streets these days, finding a suitable device to stream glorious full-motion video to might be trickier than with the Pocket PC version, but the EV-DO equipped Q and WiFi equipped T-Mobile SDA are thankfully both on the compatibility list.

When a person is on a mission, he/she can accomplish anything, no matter how Rube Goldberg-esque the solution turns out to be, so you can forgive Gary Lerhaupt's rather complicated how-to on streaming recorded programs to any 3G-enabled cellphone. Far too detailed to go into the specifics here, Lerhaupt's method basically programs your MythTV box to send recorded TV shows to a computer running Apple's open source Darwin Streaming Server software, which sets up dedicated URLs for each file and allows you to stream from your handset's browser at will. Those without pretty decent tech skillz should probably not attempt this one, as even the how-to assumes some knowledge of 3gp video conversion, script running, and something called an rtsp streaming protocol; instead, you're probably better off spending a few extra bucks on that Windows Mobile phone and employing the no-brainer solutions that the good folks at Orb and Sling Media have already come up with.

RIM's effort to position certain BlackBerries as more consumer-oriented products received a big shot in the arm today, as Sona Mobile Holdings -- which may or may not be the same company that's supposedly developing a Star Trek-themed cellphone -- announced the first-ever dedicated multimedia player for the company's "latest generation of devices." Although very little will be known about the software until it's unveiled at the Wireless Enterprise Symposium in Orlando next month, we do know that the so-called Sona BlackBerry Media Player will be able to handle streaming video, and that the first content provider will be CanWest Media Works. CanWest's offering will come in the form of a daily Sona Mobile BerryCast (their term for a wirelessly-updated podcast), which will deliver downloadable news clips to a user's device. Not even a screenshot is available yet to show you, unfortunately, but rest assured that we'll be all over this come May 16th.

[Via BBHUB]