In case you need your cell phone to do more than take pictures and video, surf the Web and attempt to impersonate an iPod (and, oh yeah, talk to people), you can now watch live TV on it, courtesy of Verizon Wireless' V CAST Mobile TV service. We're not talking about two-minute streamed-and-buffered 15-fps clips here; Verizon's service allows for live 30-fps TV broadcasts to a cell phone.
 
V CAST Mobile TV is transmitted via a dedicated multicast over-the-air network using a technology called FLO TV from MediaFLO, a Qualcomm subsidiary. The system has a capacity for up to 20 channels, but current development enables only eight: CBS Mobile, Comedy Central, ESPN Mobile TV, Fox Mobile, MTV, NBC Entertainment2Go, NBC News2Go (mostly CNBC programming), and Nickelodeon. Some channels offer simulcasts of their programming, but the real appeal of V CAST Mobile TV is its ability to tune into time-shifted prime time and late-night favorites during the day; The Daily Show, for example, is on at 2 p.m. EST. However, there's no local programming, and you can't set reminders using the program guide.
 
Verizon Wireless is rolling out service to new cities on almost a weekly basis; an updated list can be found on the Verizon Wireless Web site. You can get four channels (CBS, Fox, NBC, and NBC News) for $13 a month, all eight for $15 a month, or the complete channel lineup plus mobile Web 2.0 access, video-clip downloads, unlimited air time, and unlimited e-mail for $25 a month. AT&T will be rolling out its own FLO TV service later this year.
 
Two EV-DO FLO TV-compatible phones are currently available: the LG VX9400 ($199 with contract and rebates) and the Samsung SCH-u620 ($149). Both have a number of things in common: a familiar grid-style TV program guide, small telescoping antennas for TV reception, 1.3-megapixel cameras, 2.5mm headphone jacks, MP3 and WMA V CAST Music compatibility, and  stereo Bluetooth that works only with music and not for TV audio on the Samsung SCH-u620. But what you're buying these phones for is the nearly blip-free V CAST Mobile TV reception that works whether you're standing still or in a moving vehicle. On the other hand, both phones suffer the same drawbacks-no external music controls and exposed screens that are vulnerable to scratches and smudges.
 
But these are quibbles, relatively speaking. Watching TV on cell phones could eclipse all other cell phone functions in terms of coolness, with the exception of texting, and V CAST Mobile TV is the best service by far, both in terms of video quality and channel-changing times.

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