Ever heard of HBO Broadband? Sure you have — it’s the free online streaming service from HBO, which lets its subscribers (via Verizon FIOS or Comcast, at least) watch its shows online. Now, it’s getting a reboot as HBO Go — although whether the new name brings new features remains to be seen.

It seems that HBO still hasn’t realized how short-sighted its decision to keep HBO Go as a free supplementary service for HBO subscribers really is. After all, these days we keep seeing people getting rid of their cable subscriptions and opting for cheaper, on-demand online streaming services.

Another limitation that HBO hasn’t addressed so far is the fact that HBO Go can only be accessed where subscribers are willing to bring a notebook. You still can’t access HBO Go on mobile devices such as smartphones, and it’s not likely tablets such as the iPad will be able to, either (HBO Go only runs on Flash, so…)

To be fair, Eric Kessler (HBO co-president) has already mentioned the possibility of mobile options in the future, but didn’t really elaborate. Kind of says a lot about how up-to-date HBO is with the times.

With the tablet market getting filled up very quickly, HBO ought to get their act moving soon, or risk being left behind by smaller, more tech-savvy online TV offerings.

Via: DVICE