Comcast Frees Cable to the iPad, Just Not Very Far
Comcast, the US cable operator, announced today the enhancements made to its iPad application. The update will give users using wireless internet the possibility to watch most live shows on television streamed by Comcast, plus 3,000 hours of on-demand content.
Last November, Comcast informed about the developments made at that time for the Xfinity iPad app, letting Comcast subscribers program their digital video recorders, browse content by keyword or title, create a watch list of favorite shows and share viewing behavior via social networks.
Comcast is putting some effort into getting ahead of the current trend–that is, curbing the diminishing number of subscribers due to competitors, such as phone companies like AT&T and Verizon, or video services such as Hulu and Netflix’s rental offerings. These are all options encouraging consumers to downgrade their cable service or cancel it altogether.
But what’s notable here are the emerging uses for tablets as they relate to home media. Earlier this week we saw an upcoming release from Korea-based Enspert, with a home-media phone that will connect with an Android-powered tablet, allowing users to control their entertainment center and move their TV content from the living room onto the mobile device.
At CES, the world’s largest consumer technology tradeshow being held this week, there’s also a concentration on the development of online-TV gadgets. Online TV represents a 2010 benchmark for Apple and Google, now joined by Microsoft as well. Microsoft is planning to release tablet PCs and Avatar Kinect, a new Xbox 360 social communication system.
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