U-Verse meet XBox 360 and WP7
Today ATT announced plans to allow XBox 360 users to utilize their machines as a U-Verse receiver. The price to update your 360 to allow U-Verse is $99 which will pay for itself in less than a year as there will be no need for the extra receiver charge.
They also announced a new $9.99 monthly plan to allow WP7 users to subscribe to U-Verse mobile which will allow you to download and watch TV Shows right on your phone.
Now this just gives me more ammunition for the wife to allow me to get a XBox 360 as I have been a very happy U-Verse user for the last 4 years. This is about the only thing I like about ATT.
Press release below.
U-Verse TV on Xbox 360
AT&T To Also Make Popular U-verse Mobile App Available Nationwide, Starting with Windows Phone 7 Devices in Time for the Holidays
Dallas, Texas, October 11, 2010
The country’s fastest growing and top-rated TV service is coming to more devices nationwide. Using the power of its AT&T U-verse® IPTV platform, AT&T* is quickly making content and features available across more screens and devices, and today announced two innovative ways to watch hit TV shows.
AT&T and Microsoft today announced the Oct. 15 launch of U-verse TV on Xbox 360 for U-verse customers, which lets you enjoy the U-verse TV experience on your existing Xbox 360 device, replacing the need for an extra receiver in your home. AT&T is the first TV provider in the U.S. to offer live TV service through an Xbox 360.
AT&T also announced the upcoming launch of U-verse Mobile for Windows Phone 7 devices. Beginning in November, the popular U-verse Mobile app will be preloaded so that any AT&T wireless customer with a Windows Phone 7 device — whether or not they are a U-verse TV customer — can download and watch hit TV shows while they’re on the go. This is the first time an AT&T U-verse service will be available nationwide.
“Now you can get our award-winning U-verse services on your big screen TV, online, on your mobile phone, and integrated with your Xbox 360,” said David Christopher, chief marketing officer, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “Our IPTV strategy is putting AT&T at the forefront by delivering U-verse content where you want it. And now we’re extending the U-verse experience to more AT&T smartphone customers with the upcoming launch of U-verse Mobile on Windows Phone 7 devices.”
“AT&T has a legacy of innovation and teamed up with Microsoft to build a differentiated all-IP TV offering to enable the future of TV services for their customers,” said Andreas Mueller-Schubert, General Manager of the Media Platforms Business, Microsoft Corp. “We’re excited to extend that relationship today through new initiatives that make TV anywhere a possibility, delivering rich entertainment experiences for consumers across multiple screens, inside and outside the home.”
Using your Xbox 360 as a U-verse receiver, you can receive chat and game invitations from friends through Xbox Live while watching live TV and switch seamlessly from game to TV mode without switching video inputs on your TV screen. You will enjoy virtually the same U-verse TV experience and features available today, including the ability to watch live TV, manage and play back DVR recordings and access interactive apps, your program guide, the On Demand library and more. U-verse TV on Xbox 360 also allows customers to avoid an extra box on their entertainment center and the need to pay a monthly rental fee for an additional receiver.
New customers can order the $99 Xbox kit at 1-800-ATT-2020 when they subscribe to U-verse, and a U-verse technician will load U-verse software on their Xbox 360 during their service installation.
In November, any AT&T Windows Phone 7 owner will be able to access U-verse Mobile, a popular app that lets you download and watch hit TV shows on your smartphone. You can browse or search a library of downloadable shows, and select which series or specific episode you want to download over Wi-Fi.
For all AT&T U-verse TV customers, U-verse Mobile also lets you manage your DVR recordings; customers with qualifying TV plans get the download and watch capability included at no extra charge. AT&T Windows Phone 7 users without a qualifying U-verse TV plan will be able to subscribe to download and watch with U-verse Mobile for $9.99 per month. The ability to download and watch hit TV shows with U-verse Mobile is the first national U-verse offering available for AT&T customers, and is another example of how AT&T is delivering more content to more customers in more places.
U-verse TV on Xbox 360 and U-verse Mobile are just a few of the latest ways that AT&T is mobilizing everything that’s important to customers — their favorite content, apps, entertainment and social networks. AT&T today delivers the nation’s fastest mobile broadband network as well as the nation’s largest Wi-Fi network.
AT&T U-verse TV, which uses the Microsoft Mediaroom platform, is the only 100 percent Internet Protocol-based television (IPTV) service offered by a national service provider, making AT&T U-verse one of the most dynamic and feature-rich services available today. AT&T U-verse TV ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction in the North Central, South and West Regions,” according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 Residential Television Service Provider Satisfaction StudiesSM. For additional information on AT&T U-verse — or to find out if it’s available in your area — visit AT&T U-verse.
*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.
Source: ATT
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My husband & I just started looking at the AT&T U-verse (since we have phone and DSL through AT&T currently – would it make sense to bundle all is what we’re asking ourselves), and this would be another factor to add to the question.
But, watching the press thingy this morning, and looking at this, I’m beginning to also ask, “I’m already so invested in Google products, am I willing to become deeply entrenched in both Google and MS, or just put all my (digital information) eggs in one basket? I’m already using Google Calendar to manage the family, and have multiple @gmails. I’m afraid I’ve been around long enough that @hotmail makes me cringe. Is Hotmail any good nowadays? I’m guessing there’s no info about Google apps on the WP devices, or am I wrong?
Too bad AT&T’s Android selection is so lackluster.
@Jeremy Bartz:
I’m going by what a couple of people told me about there experiences being so much better than others. They are in new neighborhoods and said fiber was to their houses. One is a network admin the other is an engineer. Figured they knew what they are talking about. As for the VRAD, AT&T will sell you U-verse if you are on the very limit of the range. The line tech who finally got U-verse stable said that he would not have recommended it if he was the original installer. With that said, he went to his bag of tricks and did whatever to make it stable. Talking to others with U-verse in older neighborhoods, they had the same experiences. U-verse is great when it’s working, unfortunately it seems that the possibility of a bad first few months is very real.
@MartiM:
If you go with U-verse, you will get AT&T email addresses which (mine) are serviced by Yahoo. I use Exchange, so I haven’t really invested time in the AT&T / Yahoo calendars and stuff. One thing to note about U-verse (at least in my area), if you are not getting fiber to your house it is a painful first three months to a year. To avoid the pain if you will be using copper, request a (phone) line worker to come on the install as well as the U-verse installer.
The good thing is that you don’t need to use those emails addresses if you don’t want to. The only time I ever use it is to log into my account online.
@yss
U-Verse doesn’t go Fiber to the House. They go Fiber to the Node (also called a VRAD) which is those big ugly boxes you see on every block in U-Verse installed neighborhoods. From the VRAD they use your phone line to the house. That is why you cannot be too far away from the VRAD or you will not be eligible to get UVerse. They are now just rolling out Pair Bonding so now you can be up to 5000 ft from the VRAD.
What the installer CAN do, though is wire your house for CAT5 from the main brain to the TV’s. If you can help it do not let them use the existing copper in your house.
Well, we’re already on Bellsouth (owned by at&t), so technically that’s Yahoo too. I figured emails might change at @att.
Mmm. The houses around me have been there perhaps 7, 8 years. I’ll have to remember that as a factor. Thanks.
Seven to eight years isn’t that bad because high speed internet was known. The problems I’ve seen and heard about were neighborhoods and apartments built pre-AOL.
@MartiM: WP7 recognizes and supports gmail and google calendar. You don’t need to use hotmail to use this phone.
@MartiM: Also, since the recent update, hotmail is actually very good.
i agree, hotmail is pretty damn good, junkmail filters work especially well IMO
I am a little shocked that AT&T U-verse only released their app on a select few phones. I work for Dish Network and I have been using my Sling Adapter along with the Dish Remote app to stream TV live right to my mobile devices. I am not restricted to being on a Wi-Fi network. As long as I have a signal on my device I can stream what I want. It really helps out when I need some entertainment between classes.
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