Dave Zatz

Digging The Fitbit Aria WiFi Scale (But Haven't Lost Any Weight)

fitbit-aria

After four months with the Fitbit Aria WiFi Smart Scale ($130), I haven’t shed any significant weight. However, should I find the motivation to improve my fitness and diet, I do believe the Aria will provide an attractive and effective mechanism for tracking my progress. But let’s back up a bit…

As our homes and appliances collectively gain sentience via Internet connectivity, health gadgetry has become something of hot topic. The current crop of digital pedometers doesn’t do much for me, but a WiFi scale with automated tracking and charting is appealing. In this burgeoning new category, there are basically two manufacturers to choose from: Withings and Fitbit. And I went with the Fitbit Aria primarily because it clocked in $30 cheaper than Withings (at the time) and Fitbit has decent buzz due to the success of those aforementioned activity trackers (that don’t do much for me). So, while Withings may have a more sophisticated display, at the end of the day I’m just looking for two numbers — weight and body fat percentage. Assuming both products provide similar accuracy, which I can’t definitively address.

Read more

Microsoft Jettisons Mediaroom IPTV Solution

After failing to gain traction in the US, beyond AT&T (U-verse), or meaningful integration with other business components, Microsoft has decided to simply jettison their Mediaroom IPTV unit: Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) has reached an agreement with Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) to acquire its TV solution Mediaroom business. This will make Ericsson the leading provider of IPTV and multi-screen … Read more

The Ridiculous AT&T Galaxy S4 Pre-Order

Over the last few years, we’ve witnessed a bizarre new marketing trend in which products are put up for pre-order… without an actual release date or itemized spec sheet. And, amazingly, even occasionally neglecting to specify a price. AT&T is up this time, with a Samsung Galaxy S4 (pre) pre-order announcement: Continuing our legacy as the … Read more

TiVo Android App Updated… Without Stream Support

tivo-android

TiVo has just refreshed its line of Android apps, with the highlight being Jellybean (4.2) support. Unfortunately, TiVo Stream capabilities remain MIA… despite Android representing greater than 50% of US smartphones and presumably frustrated MSO partners.

The complete rundown:

  • Additional Away Mode functionality so that users can manage their Season Passes and ToDo Lists while on the go!
  • The new TiVo tablet Browse experience
  • Support for Jelly Bean (Android 4.2)
  • General Bug Fixing

    Read more

The TiVo Mini Review

tivo-mini

TiVo’s been talking up their DVR extender over a year, since it was first introduced last February as the IP-STB. And, while we didn’t get the 2012 retail launch we were hoping for, the TiVo Mini ($150) has finally arrived. But is it everything we’d hoped for?

Instead of sprinkling a number of DVRs around the home, the TiVo Mini essentially leverages a 4-tuner TiVo Premiere as a central media hub – relaying both live and recorded content. This thin client approach features a variety of practical advantages including a lower total cost of ownership, via waived CableCARD and Additional Outlet fees, energy efficiency, and the simplicity of managing a single drive of scheduled recordings. Of course, TiVo isn’t first to this space,  joining very fine satellite offerings from DISH and DirecTV on one side… with years of Windows Media Center extenders at the other end of the spectrum.

TiVo Mini Unboxing & Setup

The TiVo Mini ships with a standard Peanut remote, including batteries, and TiVo has kindly included a HDMI cable. However, in order to keep the Mini’s size under control, TiVo passed on standard component jacks and folks reliant on them may have a difficult time connecting their TVs. So, perhaps, they should have provided that rather rare breakout cable instead. Monoprice to the rescue? Speaking of connectivity,

Read more

TiVo Mini Hits Retail Outposts

UPDATE: Our TiVo Mini review is live! TiVo hasn’t yet gotten around to officially launching the TiVo Mini, but that didn’t inhibit at least one retailer from selling a unit today. And while cmonroe didn’t exactly out the “big box” store, we’ll go ahead and assume it’s Best Buy. There’s probably not much left to … Read more

A TiVo Mini Alternative: TiVo Stream to Apple TV

sad_tivoMultiple data points had indicated a TiVo Mini launch this week… yet here we are, Miniless. As to the shifting announcement, one can only guess – perhaps TiVo’s still getting the device’s technical or marketing ducks in a row. Better yet, maybe they’re taking time to reevaluate the TiVo tax. Regardless, TiVo support seems to have confirmed the situation as we understand it:

We had to delay the release. Unfortunately we have not announced when the release was rescheduled to.

So while we wait, or perhaps in lieu of an eventual TiVo Mini purchase, by using an iPhone or iPad as an intermediary, TiVo Stream owners can already move video from TiVo to a secondary television via Apple TV. Now it is a bit of a hack and, in my experimentation, I did experience some dropped frames. But for occasional usage or those on a tight budget, here’s how you’d expand the capabilities of a TiVo Stream:

Read more