Home Entertainment: January 2009 Archives

I finally purchased a new alarm clock this weekend to replace an old $10 Radio Shack no-named brand I've tolerated for the past 20 yrs. Now an alarm clock isn't necessarily something people think about all the time but I've actually put quite a bit of time and effort looking out for the perfect one. When you've put up with an AM/FM alarm clock that played neither AM or FM but rather a static ridden high pitched steady tone, well, you want the next one to be something really special. 

So I picked up a Moshi - IVR (Interactive Voice Response) Alarm Clock. It's a talking command-driven alarm clock that has a clean Apple-esque design (minus the ipod dock). Though an ipod dock would've been nice, it's actually refreshing that it doesn't offer one. Rather, there are some other unique features that will entertain you such as a night light which cycles mood colours and soothing sleep sounds like birds chirping and water falls. One feature I'd like to see in the next generation of this product is a wifi an the ability to pull in feeds such as my Last.fm playlist, local news, and weather...now that would be great!

With this technology greatly improving over the last couple of years and continuing to improve in our hands-free culture, I'm hoping to see alot more IVR and web enabled tech being integrated into household appliances and lifestyle devices in the near future.

i.TV is one of my favourite iPhone applications. You might think, well what's the big deal it's just a TV guide right? Wrong. If you're like me and currently use Rogers you know exactly how painful it can be to scan the guide on that VCR sized cable box. I'm not sure how it's possible that a company that has a virtual monopoly on the cable/vod/broadband business, making billions of dollars can be content with the service it's providing it's customers. The guide interfaces for most cable/satellite dealers have horrible usability and sluggish response times at best. There are no visual cues, poorly written synopsis, and the longer titles are truncated so you have to guess at the title. 

So along comes i.TV, a great solution...even their ads are well integrated. 

When you first launch this app it will synch up your iPhone via postal code and service provider to bring you the relevant programming information. This can take a minute but it's a one time process. The guide is displayed by title and thumbnail images so you can immediately recognize what you are looking for, as well as the channel, rating, reviews and a well written detailed synopsis. If available you can also view a sample clip or trailer.

i.TV also allow you to search movies and theatres based on your location using the iPhone's GPS feature. It also offers tons of great sorting features, email alerts, reviews, search, share and customizable features (you need to sign up for a free account). Using TiVo DVR? Then you can set to record it instantly. Got a Netflix account? Instantly add your selection to your queue. Now if it can only replace my outdated cable box...if anyone from Rogers is reading this please please contact i.TV for help!

You can download the iPhone app here.

Samsung's is kicking it up a notch with their latest line of TV and devices. 

2. Samsung will also be releasing an internet enabled television which they are calling "Connected TV". With partners like Yahoo! Widgets and Netflicks, this should be an interesting jump to the next level.