Now, this is a nifty use of the Apple (AAPL) iPad.
At an event at The Cable Show in Los Angeles today, Comcast (CMCSA) CEO Brian Roberts gave a cool demo of a prototype iPad app for controlling your cable box.
The app pops up a guide that looks a lot like the one on your TV, with a few key improvement. One, it’s a touch screen, so you can flick through the guide. Two, you have a pop-up keyboard, so you can search for programming by name. And three, you are on the Internet, so you can add social networking features, like inviting people to watch along with you, and live chat. Basically, the app turns your iPad into a souped-up remote control, fixing a lot of what is wrong with regular remotes.
Comcast is actually planning to offer the application on a range of IP-enables devices – not just the iPad – but it would be hard to find a better form-factor for controlling your TV content.
No official word from Comcast on when it might deliver the app, but in a blog post the company said that it has “developers working now to finish and launch this application.”
Update: A spokesperson for the company said the app will be available later this year.
Here’s a video of the demo:
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