Zatz Not Funny!

Netflix Instant Streaming Wii Disc Now Shipping

If my inbox is any indication, it looks like a large number of folks will be receiving Netflix instant streaming discs for their Wiis in the next day or three. Running SD-only content off of disc isn’t quite as exciting as the Netflix Xbox Live app or even Roku. But it’s a nice freebie for … Read more

Uh Oh. I Know My Comcast Data Usage.

The Comcast bandwidth meter pilot has reached my house, and for the first time today I got a look at our household data usage. Understand, we still have plenty of room under the Comcast 250-GB cap. However, I had hoped that our usage would barely register on the meter (like Jeff Baumgartner’s :)), and instead … Read more

The TiVo Premiere Review Roundup

tivo-hd-versus-tivo-premiere

The TiVo Premiere ($300) reviews have hit the web, ahead of the March 28th ship date. Unfortunately the coverage isn’t glowing, ranging in tone from decent to disappointment. In fact, some TiVo Community members are re-evaluating their pre-orders. Also unfortunately, I can’t say any of this comes as a surprise. As I wrote a few weeks ago, “The TiVo Premiere isn’t the home run I was hoping for. […] I expect to see a variety of improvements and additions over the next 12 months. Also, as a brand new platform, early adopters may find themselves in for a slightly bumpy ride.”

Current HD TiVo owners who want to see the platform evolve first-hand and who have tolerant spouses could get on-board with the Premiere now. Especially given some of the nice upgrade offers. Everyone else, upgrader or otherwise, should probably wait the 6-9 months it takes for the Premiere to get a few software updates under its belt.

As for me, I didn’t pre-order a Premiere and have no imminent purchase plans. Additionally, I’m still awaiting review hardware. Supposedly, TiVo had a limited supply of units to dole out and they appropriately prioritized the mainstream media and top tier blogs. However, I am left wondering if my lukewarm launch coverage made their decision that much easier.

Without further ado, here’s a sampling of TiVo Premiere reviews, featuring the last two sentences of each story:

Engadget
TiVo Premiere review

The problem is that moving at such a snail’s pace has allowed the cable companies to catch up and consumers to move on; if cheap / free cableco DVRs were TiVo’s greatest existential threat of the past decade, the combination of cheap / free / good cableco DVRs and the online-only content customer might be the fatal blow of this one. The Premiere is the DVR we wanted two years ago — TiVo’s challenge will be to make it the DVR we want two years from now.

Wall Street Journal
New TiVo Mixes TV and Internet, but Falls Short

All in all, TiVo Premiere looks incomplete. It seems more like a platform for a future set of offerings TiVo hopes one day to have, rather than a way to deliver new content right now.

Syncing Android with iTunes

Apple’s iTunes does a great job of synchronizing your music, video, and photo collections with a smartphone — provided that smartphone is an Apple iPhone. But what if you have an Android phone but still use iTunes to organize your media on your computer? It turns out it’s still pretty easy to synchronize your iTunes … Read more

Introducing Slacker On-Demand

It’s no secret that Mari and I are both huge Slacker fans. In fact, we’ll go ahead and proclaim Slacker as the official music service of Zatz Not Funny. I subscribe to their Internet Radio Plus service ($48/yr), which enables unlimited skips and kills all advertising. AND caching of stations for offline iPhone playback… to … Read more

Skype Arrives on Verizon Phones Tomorrow

Beginning tomorrow, Skype will be made available for download on 9 Verizon Wireless phones – 6 Blackberry models, and 3 Android handsets. Interestingly, this isn’t the traditional Skype experience we’re used to. International calls are handled as you’d expect, being routed over the data network at reasonable Skype Credit rates. But domestic calling doesn’t seem … Read more

Network Hopping the New Broadband Trend?

More Wi-Fi and mobile broadband access have me considering my network usage trends more closely. At the moment, I am a regular user of public Wi-Fi hotspots, 3G on my smartphone, WiMAX with my USB stick, and, of course, fixed broadband through my cable connection at home. But with all this broadband, I find I’m … Read more

Supersonic! Dave’s next phone?

After months of rumor, leaks, and speculation, the phone I’ve been lusting over has finally been revealed as the HTC EVO 4G on Sprint. And, other than retiring “Supersonic” in favor of this carrier-specific name, there weren’t too many surprises from the CTIA announcement. In fact, key launch date and pricing mysteries remain.

Physically, the phone resembles the Windows Mobile HD2, with a 4.3″ screen, and houses arguably the best processor of the moment. Of course, there’s a camera. And this baby packs an 8 megapixel shooter which, in additional to snapping stills, is also capable of 720p video recording. Plus there’s that front-facing camera. For applications unknown. But, speaking of software, the EVO runs Android 2.1, expertly skinned by HTC’s Sense UI.

The most unique feature of the EVO 4G is the 4G WiMax radio. High speed, low latency. The first such phone in the US. Although, possibly of dubious value while using the phone itself. However, as I’d hoped, Sprint will be offering tethering plan. Cost unknown, but supposedly supporting a staggering 8 concurrent connections. Excellent! Especially as I’ve just retired the MiFi. And the DC 4G network is mostly lit up, whether or not it’s official.