I was watching TV when a commercial for Verizon FiOS in NYC came on. I noticed that the Verizon installer was using an electronic gadget to keep track of his installation appointments. The gadget looked surprisingly like an Amazon Kindle. That’s when I realized that they must be testing an updated version.
Based on the commercial, we can see the following:
- Same basic size and shape.
- It will have a touch screen with cute little beeps when you touch it.
- It will have either a backlit screen or a much brighter screen.
- It will support custom applications like the Verizon FiOS installation application.
I assume it will be released in time for Christmas.
I’ve included the commercial and some large screen caps below.
More...
NBC moves to year-round schedule • Feb 20 2008
This was bound to happen due to the pressure from cable networks.
NFL caves…will simulcast Pats v. Giants on three networks • Dec 27 2007
This Saturday night’s Patriots at Giants game could be the most watched regular season game in history, now that the NFL has allowed CBS and NBC to simulcast the game which was only going to be on the NFL Network which only reaches about 40% of the country thanks to disagreements between NFL Network and a few cable operators (like mine). I would have been able to see the game since the games on NFL Network are simulcast on broadcast stations in the local markets, but this game highlights how consumers can get screwed when two large media companies fight over a few dollars.
And if you think à-la-carte cable subscriptions would solve the problem, think again. I tend to agree with this NY Times article, where Joe Nocera writes:
Take, for instance, ESPN, which charges the highest amount of any cable network: $3 per subscriber per month. Suppose in an à la carte world, 25 percent of the nation’s cable subscribers take ESPN. If that were the case, the network would have to charge each subscriber not $3, but $12 a month to keep its revenue the same. (And don’t forget: with its $1.1 billion annual bill to the National Football League alone, ESPN is hardly in a position to tolerate declining revenues.)
