Verizon iPad App: A closer look

August 21, 2010 - 0:0

The Verizon iPad app -- currently named “What's Hot” -- is still in production, but after launch, subscribers of Verizon's FiOS service will be able to stream live TV to their iPads using their FiOS set-top boxes. Users will only be able to stream TV within their own home, so that Verizon can authenticate the service.

Verizon isn't totally optimistic about moving its services outside the home. The “company stated that 'ideally,' rival ISPs wouldn't be discriminated against, but refused to comment further,” Gizmodo reported.
The software requires an in-home Wi-Fi connection. The app makes it possible for one person to watch a program through Verizon's set-top box on a traditional TV while someone else watches a different program on the iPad
Verizon considers the app finished, and is now working with content providers to populate the channels. Verizon Chief Information Officer Shaygan Kheradpir guesses conversations with content providers won't be difficult because watching content on an iPad is just like watching it on a TV.
Verizon's app's biggest hindrances are money and immovability. The cost of streaming live TV on your iPad requires a Verizon FiOS cable package, which run from $65 to $90 per month for the TV service alone (Verizon offers money-saving bundles as well).
The fact that you can't take streaming TV out of your house doesn't make much sense. The iPad is specifically made for content on the go -- if you can't go beyond your home's four walls, what's the point? You might as well watch live TV on -- gasp! -- your TV. Depending on what “traditional” TV you own, the resolution will be better anyway.
Verizon has plans to bring live TV outside of your home, but pricing and availability haven't been determined, Shawn Strickland, vice president of consumer strategy, told Bloomberg. Verizon also declined to comment on timing for that service. That aside, Verizon's FiOS service is very impressive. A recent test saw FiOS delivering bandwidth approaching 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) to a business customer in Taunton, Massachusetts. Paired with the iPad and other tablets, this app could be something -- just not right now. Keep in mind that FiOS isn't available everywhere -- it's currently in 16 states, but growing.
Likely anticipating the “meh” factor of its first iPad offering, Verizon is already crafting plans for a second app.
“Verizon said it is planning to release another application later this year that will let customers watch movies purchased and rented from FiOS on devices from Research In Motion Ltd., the maker of the Blackberry smartphone line, as well as those running Google Inc.'s Android operating system. That application will also be submitted to Apple's App Store for use on its iPad,” The Wall Street Journal reports.
(Source: Reuters)