Verizon at Home

[#1]

A recent New York Times story leads off with a suggestion that as Verizon moves forward with breakthrough innovations in TV service with its Widgets Bazaar, we are suffering from “iPhone envy.”

Not so much.  Of course, like most everyone, we recognize that opening the FiOS TV Widget platform to other developers besides just us will mean more applications sooner.  But this is a concept pioneered in the days of VisiCalc, not the iPhone.  We see the FiOS TV consumer experience as much different from the smart phone experience.

FiOS on-screen TV apps target the 40-inch screen the whole family watches together, not a personal 3-inch handheld or 15-inch desktop screen.  Our Widgets are created with the idea that they work best on the bigger screen – like Facebook photo sharing or Twitter postings related to a TV show.  Future Widgets might provide information about what’s being viewed like sports stats or product information. 

The Times article made the point that Verizon does have a technological advantage over other TV service providers.  Our set-top boxes connect directly to both the Internet and our TV streams.  Most other STBs don’t have IP capability.  We can write and push innovative software to them over our network.  That lets the FiOS Interactive Media Guide provide new features and functions like advanced search, better graphics and, of course, Widgets.

Finally, as we develop our business plan for which Widgets to make available and under what terms, we are going to use simple common sense.  The Widgets will be useful, family-friendly and offer some value to the viewer, whether it’s something as simple as a ballplayer’s batting average or something more complex, like GPS tracking of the kids on their way home from school.

Envy? No. Wrong deadly sin.  Pride?  Yes, guilty as charged.

[#2]

I applaud all of the exciting new features that you tout in this blog, and look forward to seeing them in action on my TV.  Every day there seems to be something new.  Bravo!

That said, you need to be careful about making claims that brag about, in particular, your Interactive Media Guide.  The IMG is a far-from-mature product with many problems that need to be addressed.  SImilarly, the basic DVR functionality of your STBs needs to be corrected first, before investing a lot of time, effort and hot air in new features for which nobody is clamoring.

[#3]

+1 to CapnTrips comments. PLEASE

Justin