So, figured it out in the end. I can’t download or watch TV shows on the go, but I can over a WIFi network. But there’s the rub. Or, two rubs, if you want. The first is the need to be at home before you can download anything. Plenty of forward planning required there. Such as “tomorrow, when I’m on the train and I have a seat (it’s Thursday, so I should do) I’ll watch that episode of Sunshine I missed last night”. You can see the thought process involved there. Still, let’s not knock it. We’re talking about the cream of the BBC available on my spanking new phone here. And that’s progress. Which brings me neatly onto rub number 2.

The other day I had my broadband upgraded at home. The new set up meant I HAD TO have a new (old) Wireless router. That new (old) router is actually 802.11g and so won’t work for me – my Apple TV needs an 802.11n network to work. So, now I have two wireless networks at home.

And here’s the thing. I tried to knit the N96 to my faster, N, network, but it wasn’t having any of it. Turns out the N96 doesn’t support 802.11n. Which is a bit of a shame when iPlayer insists on being in a WiFi zone to download videos. Something for which speed is of the essence. Once set up on the slower 802.11g network though, everything worked fine. Downloading the first episode of the heart-warming, but somewhat distressing, Sunshine took about four minutes (it’s a 63MB file).

Jumping round the iPlayer app is fine, but I wish there was a better way to move the pointer. It’s too easy to scroll past the show you want when rolling down a whole list. Somehow you’d expect it to just jump from link to link. I think Symbian needs to work on this a little as its a Webkit/S60 Browser issue rather than a fault of the phone or iPlayer.

Watching shows itself isn’t too bad. So far its only happened in the comfort of my own home so we’ll have to see tomorrow how the whole thing fares on the train. I’ve downloaded a couple of shows to watch and although the screen, relative to my 37-inch LCD is small, it’s still decent for a mobile device. Apart from some shows such as Harry and Paul not being available to watch or download, the whole iPlayer thing is pretty decent. That said, why Radio shows are streamed and not replaced with Podcasts, I don’t know. Given the BBC is excellent at providing the latter, iPlayer seems a little naked without them. Particularly given the mobile nature of its presence on an N96. Still.

Overall then this is a major boost for the N96. Sure, there are quibbles but I’m inclined to look right past those and marvel instead at what’s been achieved here. A massive library of TV shows available right there in your palm. And who said mobile TV was dead?

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