ConnectedTV Turns Palm Handheld Into TV Guide And Remote Control

10/04/02 -- ConnectedMedia Corporation has released ConnectedTV, a new consumer service that lets TV viewers see personalized lists of TV shows on a Palm organizer screen, and tune a show simply by touching its name. The service is now available for $29.95 per year at www.connected.tv. For a limited time, ConnectedMedia is offering a bonus month of service to new subscribers.

ConnectedTV is receiving top reviews from experts and consumers. Handheld Computing Magazine editor Denny Atkin calls ConnectedTV "one of the most impressive Palm OS applications we've ever seen," while Pen Computing calls it "probably the Palm application with the broadest appeal of any of the 11,000+ available Palm programs." ConnectedTV is uniquely 'sticky' because it solves several widespread TV viewing problems at once - too many remote controls, multi-digit channel numbers, and slow, inconvenient TV guides.

ConnectedTV's innovative solution offers instant, personalized access to shows, costs less than a TV guide subscription, and can outperform advanced remote controls costing $400 and more. "ConnectedTV is the first handheld software to address consumers' needs where they most often relax - at the TV," says ConnectedMedia founder and President David Levitt.

ConnectedTV users see show names and descriptions for just the stations they want, browse them at their own pace, and simply stroke the name of a show to tune it. The handheld guide doesn't interrupt or shrink their TV image, and users don't even need to know what channel a show is on.

ConnectedTV can be operated with one hand like a remote control. Show titles and descriptions appear on finger-sized buttons on the Palm's screen, so no pen-like stylus is needed. TV controls like Mute and Volume are available on the Palm's built-in hardware buttons, so users can quickly adjust the TV without even looking at the device. Thanks to this interface, and the huge TV viewing market, ConnectedTV may have a broader audience than the Palm itself.

Amodern remote control often has 40 buttons or more. ConnectedTV makes many of them unnecessary; "Touch Tuning" replaces the digits, so users mainly browse lists of shows with just two buttons. They find shows faster, and press fewer buttons than they did with a remote control or an on-screen TV guide.

Early ConnectedTV subscribers use it more than any other Palm application. They can easily mark a show or movie as a 'Favorite' to find it instantly whenever it's on, or eliminate any channel or show they don't want to see.

ConnectedTV works with any cable, satellite, or broadcast TV lineup in the United States. It can load up to two weeks of advance TV listings when the user synchronizes or backs up their Palm to a personal computer or other networked device. The system provides TV control by adapting the built-in wireless infrared "beaming" capability of devices that run the Palm OS operating system. Previous programs have used this capability to turn the Palm into a remote control by creating digit buttons on the screen, but these solutions were no faster or easier to use than a remote control.

ConnectedTV runs on Palm Powered devices a few years old, and takes advantage of the latest features on the latest models. TV listing files can be stored in main memory or in removable expansion memory like SD (Secure Digital) cards and Memory Sticks. Users of Sony Clie brand organizers can browse and tune shows just by rolling and pressing the Jog Dial button. It works with the least expensive Palm devices like the $99 Palm m105, as well as higher-end devices from Palm, Handspring, Sony, and other vendors.

Further information is available at www.connected.tv.