Nearly one year since it was first announced, Sling Media has confirmed that its SlingPlayer Mobile application for BlackBerry smartphones will be available as a public beta before the end of the year, on December 30. The player will let Slingbox customers watch and control their home TV and DVR via their BlackBerry device, but at launch, only some of RIM’s smartphones will be compatible and the new flagship Storm is notably missing from the list.


According to Sling Media the beta will be supported on the BlackBerry Bold, Curve 8320/8900, Pearl 8120, Pearl Flip 8220, and the BlackBerry 8820 – assuming they are updated to OS 4.5. You can also try the beta client on “EDGE-Berries” like the 8100, 8300, and 8810, but these models won’t be officially supported and are likely to offer a less than optimal experience.

The public BlackBerry beta is due to go live on 30 December and will join the iPhone, Palm OS, Symbian S60, and Windows Mobile versions of the application which are either already available or in development. Regarding Android, the company only says it is still monitoring the platform and its adoption but apparently no client is being developed yet.