If you happen to subscribe to Comcast cable and own an iPad, Comcast has launched a free app that turns your iPad into a remote control, TV guide and in the near future, a video screen.
Comcast debuted the Xfinity TV app for iPad at Web 2.0 in San Francisco (although we saw a sneak peak back in May). The first iteration, which will be available on iTunes later this week, lets you scroll through TV and on-demand listings, tap on a show, and watch it on the big screen; basically, a fancy remote control. You can also use it to program your DVR.
By December, users will be able to watch Xfinity's pre-recorded content directly on their iPads. They will also be able to integrate their Comcast accounts with social-networking sites to share what they are watching with their friends and "friends."
The iPad app is the first of many scheduled apps, the company said. This year Comcast will launch different apps for the iPhone and iPod touch. Next, it will launch versions for the Android OS, and "apps with similar functionality" on the Blackberry "very soon," said Tony Werner, chief technical officer for Comcast, who demoed the product for PCMag.com at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. Comcast will develop for the 7-inch Android Galaxy Tab by the end of the year, and it will run on Android phones as well, he said.
By mid-2011, Comcast will provide all of its Xfinity recorded content via the app, Werner said.
In the first iteration, users will be able to either watch live TV or tell the DVR to record the series. It will not allow consumers to manage their DVR - adding and deleting shows, Werner said. But users can also tune their DVRs via the app, Comcast's answer to AT&T Uverse's ability to "take" a show from one room and DVR to the next, he said.
"We've been thinking about this for quite a while," Werner said.
According to Neil Smit, president of Comcast Cable, the app will reinvent the way consumers interact with their TVs.
"The remote control hasn't changed in years and this app will enable millions of consumers to instantly search thousands of live TV and On Demand choices and also watch the best content whenever and wherever they want," he said in a press release.
Visit Xfinity's Web site to learn more.
Additional reporting by Mark Hachman