Dave Zatz, Author at Zatz Not Funny!

TiVo Stream Available For Pre-Order ($130)

tivo-stream-rear

In case you missed it, TiVo held an awkward Facebook sweepstakes to “win” the opportunity to pre-order a TiVo Stream. Today, the lucky 600 were notified with the email below:

Call (877) 289-8486 by September 4th (noon PST) to order your new TiVo Stream and receive it on September 5th. The TiVo Stream is just $129.99 with no additional service fee.

I’m satisfied with TiVo’s pricing. Sure, they could have gone lower on hardware, but TiVo’s always been something of a premium brand and service. Most importantly, they’re launching the Stream fee-free. And I’m down for one.

As a refresher, the TiVo Stream is a small network device that acts as an intermediary between a Premiere DVR and an iPhone or iPad — allowing you to stream live or DVRed content to iOS devices around the home. Also, as the virtual successor to TiVoToGo, the Stream can wirelessly offload unrestricted recordings to that iPad or iPhone to take on the road.

UPDATE: My TiVo Stream review is up.

75 Minutes To Verizon FiOS

As the owner of a brand spanking new home, we had the unique opportunity to decide which provider would run cable into our humble abode. After weighing the pros and cons, we selected Verizon FiOS over Comcast Xfinity for both television and Internet services. And, from start to finish, it was the least painful process … Read more

Upcoming TiVo IP-STB Christened "Mini"

TiVo’s upcoming IP-STB has been been christened as the “TiVo Mini.” This wasn’t entirely unexpected, as I’d learned of it being referenced as such internally and believe it’s popped up at a TiVo investor or industry talk recently. It’s probably not TiVo’s best branding move to describe their DVR-less extender, but the kangaroo-centric Hopper and Joey are spoken … Read more

Louboutin's Geek Chic Microchip Shoes

Geek chic with a healthy amount of disposable income? Christian Louboutin has you covered with these (new?) Lady Peep Geek Embroidered Pumps: From the description: Embroidered with microchip-inspired patterning, numbers, and sequins, a satin upper boasts eye-catching shine balanced with texture. In addition to a distinctively sexy aesthetic, Christian Louboutin shoes are also instantly recognizable for … Read more

Kevin Tofel Inspires Apple To Build Smaller iPad

kevin-tablet

As you’ve probably heard, Apple and Samsung are going at it via a variety of legal challenges across the globe. And, while litigation generally bores me, I was pretty stoked to discover my buddy Kevin Tofel cited in evidence.

Kevin’s the biggest 7″ tablet evangelist I know. In fact, he recently penned an article declaring small tablets will replace smartphones… and believes it. While I have my doubts, Kevin routinely carries a 7″ tablet with him — here I am holding his Nexus 7 loaner while we wandered around Vegas last month and he recently “called” me from his yard, given the video, from another tab using Google Chat.

So it’s amazingly acknowledging to see Apple execs literally sharing Kevin’s interest in this particular form factor as you can see from the email (below) that Eddie Cue sent to Tim Cook, Scott Forstall, and Phil Schiller.

SlingPlayer Headed To Gaming Consoles?

EchoStar’s Sling Media is out with a survey today testing the waters for console-based placeshifting. While the SlingCatcher is dead and buried, SlingPlayer for Connected Devices has been slowly bringing Slingbox feeds to various set-top devices including Google TV, WDTV Live, and Boxee. Next up, your Xbox, Wii, or PS3? From the emailed survey (pictured below):

In this section, we’re trying to gauge your interest in using SlingPlayer on your game console. Imagine if you could watch your Slingbox in full HD on your big screen TV using your game console. Essentially, you could enjoy everything on your main TV but you would use your gaming device. In other words, you could:

Watch all your live TV, DVR recordings & On-demand content
Control everything using your game console controller
With a picture quality comparable to your normal TV experience

A big advantage is that you would NOT PAY for another cable or satellite set top box. A couple of situations where you can enjoy this are:

A vacation home
A 2nd bedroom, recreation room, or basement
College student’s apt or dorm
Replace any set top box

While the proposition is appealing, I’m not sure a game console is the most efficient platform for delivery… for Sling or for us. Assuming our Slingboxes will never stream content to Apple TV, Roku is an ideal platform if Sling can work out the technical challenges — it’s small and cheap, with an open SDK and much greater penetration than say the WDTV Live Sling currently supports. How much would an app like that be worth to you?

TiVo Preps New Four Tuner "Premiere 4"

TiVo’s retail line of DVRs will gain a new new hardware SKU in the coming weeks, expanding the Premiere family to four units of varying hard drive capacity and tuner count. And it’s a move that suddenly sheds light on TiVo’s recent rebranding of the TiVo Premiere Elite to the TiVo Premiere XL4. The new … Read more

Shattered, Shattered. (iPhone)

shattered-iphone

After possessing literally dozens of caseless phones over maybe a 15 year span, I finally did the unthinkable. Or, perhaps, it was the inevitable. And it was a boneheaded move. Overtired on an 8 hour drive, we stopped for a Starbucks pick-me-up… yet, before making it into the store, I managed to launch my iPhone straight into the pavement face first and shattered the display.

Oh, the phone was fully functional, but trying to use it led to a glass-pierced bloody finger. Reading email was also a bit challenging. Despite that, my first thought was