BREAKING. DStv Mobile's new Drifta decoder and mobile television extender device sold out after just one day.

You're reading it here first.

It's not official and I have no official word on it from DStv Mobile, but it seems as if the new Drifta decoder, the new MultiChoice mobile television extender device that went on sale yesterday, has sold out.

When I called the MultiChoice switchboard to have a Drifta decoder activated I was met with surprise. ''How can you have a Drifta decoder?'' the switchboard operator asked me this afternoon, one day after the fascinating device went on sale yesterday at R599. ''You can't have a Drifta device. They're all sold out,'' I was told.

Well, I do have one and what the Drifta decoder does, is that it enables mobile television broadcasts on your other devices from iPads and iPods to your laptop, Apple Mac and PC. A DStv Mobile source told me that whether the new Drifta stock (its manufactured in Korea) is sold out or not, a new batch  of Drifta devices will be in South Africa ''within a day or two''.

ALSO READ: Where does the name come from? Where is it made? All you want to know about DStv's new Drifta decoder.
ALSO READ: All the basics about DStv's new Drifta decoder.

EXCLUSIVE. Where does the name come from? Where is it made? All you want to know about DStv Mobile's new Drifta decoder.

You're reading it here first.

I'm first with all the exclusive have-to-know details about DStv Mobile's great new gadget - the Drifta decoder - to enable mobile television broadcasts on your other devices from iPads and iPods to your laptop, Apple Mac and PC.

(For more on the Drifta decoder and the basics of what it is, read my earlier story HERE.)

Here is what I can tell you first about about DStv Mobile's new Drifta decoder that will go on sale from December after I reached out to DStv Mobile for some answers to specific questions late last night.

First off theThe Drifta is manufactured in Korea. DStv Mobile doesn't want to give me a specific product order but says ''initially the order will be limited as we want to test the market and gauge interest. As the interest and demand grows, so will the number of devices that we bring into the country.''

I asked where the name of the Drifta decoder comes from  and who thought of it. DStv Mobile tells me the naming of the device was done ''by our creative team''. ''Mobility was the strong motivator. It plays into the concept of 'wherever you are whatever you are doing'. The product does not only allow the user to 'drift' across content genres, it also allows them to 'drift between devices. The name had to be both a noun and a verb to allow people to describe what they are doing,'' says DStv Mobile.

But why did DStv Mobile decide to launch the Drifta as well in conjunction with starting DVB-H broadcasting on cellphones? Why a separate gadget? ''Initially the number of DVB-H enabled cellphones in the market will be limited as it will take time for manufactures to bring more enabled phones into the market,'' says DStv Mobile. ''The motivation for introducing the Drifta decoder is to make DStv Mobile accessible to a wider audience and to give consumers a choice on how to access the service.''

ALSO READ: Exclusive first look at DStv Mobile's great new gadget - the Drifta decoder!
ALSO READ: All the basics about DStv Mobile's new Drifta decoder for mobile television broadcasts on other devices.

EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK! DStv Mobile's new Drifta decoder for mobile television broadcasts on other devices!

You're seeing it here first.

Ta-da! I can be first to give you the exclusive first look at the brand-new Drifta decoder of DStv Mobile that will be on sale from December and that will make it possible to watch television (only certain TV channels initially) on anything from your laptop to your iPad, iPod, PC and Apple Mac.

The nifty gadget, looks very much like a cellphone, with a little radio antenna and is small enough to fit into a Christmas stocking. Perfect since the Drifta decoder will go on sale from December for R599.

ALSO READ: MultiChoice Mobile delights with the new Drifta decoder for mobile television broadcasts on other devices.
ALSO READ: Where does the name come from? Where is it made? All you want to know about DStv Mobile's new Drifta decoder.

BREAKING. MultiChoice delights with a great new gadget for true mobile television in South Africa: say hello to the Drifta decoder.

Well, well, well. I'm wonderfully impressed (and I really mean it). So it seems that the South African TV industry does still have secrets. Awesome secrets that it can keep and keep very well - ones that even I don't know about.

Like a secret episode of Oprah's Favourite Things, MultiChoice and DStv Mobile kept it's new mobile television decoder super hush hush. Just like Apple with the iPod and then the iPad; but just with television. Not a single person blabbed, not one source told me anything, I never heard the word before a few hours ago when I read it in a press release and it's all just really . . . remarkable! (Or maybe I'm just getting old and slipping.)

DStv Mobile can be accessed on a DVB-H enabled cellphone or via MultiChoice’s newly introduced mobile TV decoder, the Drifta.

Announcing its new true mobile television service in South Africa for DVB-H enabled cellphones, DStv Mobile stunned (since I thought I knew everything about today's announcement which I already spilled last week RIGHT HERE) with the little bit of big news: a mobile TV decoder called Drifta. Here's everything about the Drifta that I know for now, more information about it hopefully tomorrow.

The Drifta will be sold at all major retailers from 1 December and it will cost R599. You'll be able to activate the Drifta through the MultiChoice call centre or the DStv Mobile website. The Drifta is a separate device (not even I know how it looks yet - crazy!) that receives the DStv Mobile broadcast signal and relays it over WiFi to a range of WiFi-capable laptops, PC's, tablets and smartphones.

That means that you'll be able to watch Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding on 29 April 2011 on the eNews Channel right on your iPod, iPad, iPhone, laptop or whatever next year! (The Drifta supports Windows and iOS devices such as the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, while Blackberry OS, Symbian 3 and Android applications are in development.)

ALSO READ: Where does the name come from? Where is it made? All you want to know about DStv Mobile's new Drifta decoder.