FiOS TV gets social networking and Web video

As someone who gets paid to write well (I hope), I think that Twitter is the beginning of the end of Western civilization. The Verizon folks decided to ignore my opinion, however, and they're integrating tweets and Facebook into an updated Widgets Bazaar. The social networking feeds add more content to the Widgets that already included ESPN Fantasy Football, customized news, traffic, and weather, and horoscopes.

The Widgets Bazaar is being launched as an open development platform. In the coming months, Verizon will add to the FiOS TV Widget Bazaar dozens of additional free and transactional applications developed by the company and others.

Verizon soon will publish its Software Development Kit (SDK) to enable open development. The open development platform will enable developers to publish applications to FiOS TV's growing base of more than 7 million interactive set-top devices in FiOS TV homes. The company expects open development to unleash a plethora of innovative, television centered applications. The SDK will use Lua, a robust and efficient programming language.

Verizon is also adding Web video sites to its Widgets. Later this month, customers who subscribe to the Home Media DVR service will have access a new Internet Video feature that will allow them to search and view on FiOS TV user generated online videos from video-sharing sites blip.tv, Dailymotion and Veoh. In addition, a new My Videos feature will let these subscribers view via FiOS TV personal videos stored on their PCs. Both new features will be available free of charge to FiOS Home Media DVR customers and require no additional equipment.

Veoh's content is pretty decent, and includes both catalog and recent television programming (CSI, NCIS, Family Guy, The Daily Show, etc.). I'm particularly excited about The A-Team!

Rallypoint takes fantasy sports up a notch!

Rallypoint's sports widgets for TV were one of the coolest things at the CES this year.Fantasy sports fanatics will find ultimate heaven in Rallypoint's solutions. Imagine getting real time updates on all of your fantasy players on your TV screen in real time as you watch your favorite show or game on television. Add on the ability to order pizza without leaving the comfort of your couch or letting go of the coveted remote. Users can also chat with their contacts via the widget.

Rallypoint seems to have pulled together several moving parts i.e partnerships with content providers (digital and otherwise) to provide a totally new experience. They currently have solutions for Yahoo!'s widget framework and have also partnered with Sharp to develop a solution for Sharp's proprietary browser based widget framework. Services are expected to be on subscription basis i.e. viewers can download the widget and pay a subscription fee for the length of the plan to receive updated content on a 'per season' basis. Pricing information was not readily available, but I would assume it would certainly be in an attractive range for the fantasy fans.

Yahoo! Widget Channel Announcements

Here's the rundown of the announcements that Yahoo! made in reference to the TVs demonstrating the Widget Channel:

• LG Electronics
• Samsung
• Sony
• VIZIO

Thanks to The Wall Street Journal, which used some of our data in an article last week discussing the Internet-connected TVs.

Widgets-on-the-TV/CE: Hot News from CES

The customization of news, weather, traffic, and other information on the TV screen is one of the hot topics to come out of CES this year. I saw a couple of announcements that caught my eye.

Oregan Networks announced the results of an interesting study that they conducted on consumer receptivity to 'Net-enabled televisions. 71% of all respondents would prefer a default media browser to be installed, although they would like the option to be able to change it. Additionally, if their next TV did not come with a pre-installed media browser, 29% of respondents said that they "definitely would" download one, while a further 45% would be likely to download one. 69% of respondents would pay something to download a digital media browser to their next television, if this was supported. 87% of respondents would select a TV with a media browser because it would offer them more entertainment choices.

These type of findings are consistent with those from our recently-completed Digital Media Evolution study, where we found not only receptivity to new connectivity applications, but also a willingness by consumers to place a premium on devices with built-in networking capabilities.

Oregan also announced that it was working with Micronas to marry browser capabilities to silicon. The solution includes Micronas’ Pegasus IDTV platform running a software suite from Oregan Networks that includes a web browser to access TV channels and Internet content such as YouTube™, NetFlix® and Flickr®. A media client is included to display in-home content such as home videos, music and digital pictures in HD, via a DLNA network. 'Widgets' are also provided that pop up information such as sports news, stocks and weather reports.

I also saw a news release from Rallypoint announcing a partnership with Sharp to provide social networking features to AQUOS Net televisions. Rallypoint is also providing its fantasy football widget solution to Samsung’s 2009 flat-panel HDTV lines supporting the new TV Widget service, called “Internet@TV - Content Service.

You remember that cute little Widget device called Chumby? It's now partnering with consumer electronics companies to develop reference designs for widgets-on-devices applications. Chumby released news that it was working with Samsung in this regard, specifically for photo frames. The company announced that it was working with multiple partners in the connected photo frame market, including:

• Marvell
• Samsung
• SMK
• Wolfson Microelectronics

Intel is ready to prototype the Widget Channel at CES

Following up their Widget Channel announcement at the Intel Developer Forum in August, Intel says that it will show prototype devices at CES. Intel also expects to announce new partnerships with content and service providers for The Widget Channel. The company also will introduce services "moving beyond just leisure and entertainment and television," said Genevieve Bell, an Intel fellow who specializes in studying user interaction with technology.

I'd expect to see lots of demos of Internet-on-TV devices in Las Vegas in January.