IntoNow - The Amazing App I Overlooked

As a technology news writer I do my best to stay on top of the technology news using a myriad of platforms, services, and tools. Soon after I started, I soon realized it was impossible to keep up with and know about everything that was changing, launching, or merging. Even still; I try.

On January 31, 2011 a startup called IntoNow launched their revolutionary new iPhone app. I missed this news, but did learn of the company later on when Yahoo! purchased it in April for about $20 million; not bad for having just launched their first product only three months prior. Even at this time I didn't pay much attention because of the issues at Yahoo! and other news that overpowered it.

Then, at the end of July, IntoNow for Android was released upon the world. I would see this news story and pause for a moment to see what the service was all about. It was another TV check-in app like Miso, Clicker, and Philo. So I thought! The rate of information flowing through my brain allowed me only a few moments to scan the service's hompage and nothing jumped out at me that would differentiate it from the other social entertainment services like it.

Just a couple weeks ago I learned that the iPad had it's own version now. What did this app do? I said to myself... it must be more than a simple check-in service to account for this rapid expansion! Finally I grabed my Android phone and install it. WOW! IntoNow can listen to what is on TV and identify the show or movie you are watching. Consider it the Shazam of video.

This product is pure genius on a technology and consumer level. The proprietary technology (covered by patent 7,516,074) is called SoundPrint and has an index of over 2.6 million videos. That is more than 140 million minutes of aired shows that is constantly updated. In just seconds it listens to the show to identify what it is, and if it is a TV show, what season and episode you are watching. Because of the algorithmic speed the app has no problem identifying first run shows that are being indexed at the same time you are querying them. They have data for anything that has aired on television in the last 5 years.

On the consumer side IntoNow bridges the gap that other check-in services struggle with. The biggest obstacle to checking-in to a broadcast is searching for the show,movie, or event and, in many cases, creating the entry yourself. Miso is making progress by partnering with AT&T U-verse and DirecTV for faster check-ins, but nothing beats Yahoo! and IntoNow. Social sharing, stats, and information all accompany the iPad version as seen in the below video. The other platform versions also have excellent features to go along with the mind boggling video identification magic show.

Download IntoNow for Android or iOS today and let me know what you think in the comments. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Optimum App for iPad Gives You a Full Cable Television Experience (PR)

Cablevision's Optimum iPad App

Cablevision's new Optimum App brings cable TV to the iPad.

BETHPAGE, N.Y., April 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC) today announced the launch of the Optimum App for iPad, which allows its cable television customers to experience iO TV digital cable – including access to hundreds of channels and video on demand (VOD) – on an iPad in the home. The application delivers the full cable television experience to the tablet device, and allows the iPad to function as a television. Like all additional outlets, it is free to existing Optimum cable television customers. 

In addition to approximately 300 live channels and access to VOD, the Optimum App for iPad integrates enhanced guide information that makes it easier than ever before for customers to find the content they already receive as part of their cable television subscription. Programming is fully searchable, including by genre, and the application includes the ability to schedule DVR recordings and manage previously-recorded content. 

"This application allows the iPad to function as a television, delivering the full richness and diversity of our cable television service to a display device in the home," said Tom Rutledge, Cablevision's chief operating officer. "It gives our customers the additional flexibility and convenience of watching television throughout the home, in places where set-top boxes might not be ideal or even practical, like the kitchen, bathroom or work room. This is the future of Advanced Digital Cable televisions served with virtual set-top boxes, and just one of many digital displays we are going to be serving through a variety of applications," Mr. Rutledge concluded. 

Cablevision uses its secure and proprietary Advanced Digital Cable television network to deliver cable programming to customers for viewing on the Optimum App for iPad, and content is not delivered over the Internet. The application turns the iPad into an additional television, enabling Cablevision customers to view the same live programming and VOD content already being delivered to other TVs in the home as part of the service they have paid for. Cablevision has the right to distribute programming over its cable system to iPads configured in this way under its existing distribution agreements with programming providers. Cablevision has been serving customers with switched digital cable for more than five years. Advanced Digital Cable allows the company to switch in multiple digital formats, as its customers continue to buy the latest display devices. Customers do not need to have Internet access to use the Optimum App for iPad. 

Cablevision plans to deploy additional applications that deliver the same experience to other tablets and display devices, functioning as televisions. The company plans to integrate remote control functionality into the Optimum App for iPad this summer.

The Apple iPad 2 Features

Details about the iPad 2 from Apple's event with Steve Jobs and Scott Forstall.

Price: $499 - $829
Launch: March 11, 2011 for USA, March 25, 2011 in other countries
Carriers: AT&T and Verizon
Colors: Black or White
Weight: 1.3 pounds
Thickness: 8 mm - 33% thinner than iPad (also is thinner than the iPhone 4)
Processor: Apple A5 - 2X faster CPU
HDMI Out: Yes, up to 1080, with simultaneousness charging
Cover/Case/Stand: Yes, available for $39 - $69
iOS: Version 4.3; Better Safari performance, faster JavaScript, better Airplay, FaceTime, Photo Booth, and more