Verizon FiOS Mobile (for iPad)

Verizon's FiOS TV/phone/Internet service has long had a selection of Android, iPad, and iPhone apps, but now they're finally taking the first steps to making your iPad a true second screen for your home. The Verizon FiOS Mobile app for iPad (free) used to be a nice little app that could be used to schedule and manage recordings on your DVR, but now the service has been improved to include live TV streaming. Live Streaming and the rest of the app work quite well, and it's a very good first step. However, the service needs some improvements to be the end-all app that makes you run screaming to switch to FiOS.

The FiOS Advantage
FiOS has a lot going for it: a fast fiber network that starts at 15Mbps down, 5Mbps up. For power-user households, FiOS jumps all the way to 300Mbps down, 65Mbps up, which is possibly more throughput than your entire campus had when you were in college, if you're my age, anyhow. FiOS also has a large selection of TV channels and digital voice, a replacement for the landline telephone service Verizon has been selling since it was a part of the Bell System in the late 19th up to the late 20th century.

The New App
FiOS Mobile for iPad leverages both your Internet connection and your TV subscription to give you around 75 channels live, including favorites like HBO, Cinemax, Nickelodeon, Fox News, CNN, and E! Children's channels are well represented, as are most of the channels you'd consider part of your basic and premium lineups. Notably absent are the local broadcast networks like ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox, but the lineup can be updated in the future. For example, Optimum's (Cablevision) iPad offering has over 300 channels, including broadcast networks.

I found it easy to find something to watch, with thumbnails that became active once I tapped on one. The thumbnail starts playing the live feed and gives you an option to record on your DVR, watch on your TV, or watch directly on the iPad. iPad live viewing is smooth and has good sound through the iPad's speaker, with better sound using headphones. You could theoretically use the iPad to watch a program while you or your family watches another program on the big screen in your family room. You have to be on your home (or a friend's) FiOS network to watch live TV. The app streamed live TV fine in my neighbor's home, but didn't let me watch premium channels like HBO that I had subscribed to, but she had not. Likewise, the app only allowed the basic scheduling and DVR management functions when away from a FiOS Internet connection.

Not Just Streaming
The other functions of the app are carried over from when the app was a simple scheduling and remote control app. You can view the status of your DVRs, including disk usage, scheduling, and current recordings. You can remotely schedule programs (like if you hear about a show while on a coffee break at work), delete shows to make room, and bookmark On Demand programs to watch later when you get home. When connected to my FiOS-supplied router, the FiOS Mobile app allowed me to control my set top boxes and DVRs with all the functions of the IR remote. The app brings up a graphic representation of the remote, which you could touch to activate the same functions as if you had the plastic and rubber remote in your hand. This had the potential for practical jokes, but also is a godsend if you constantly lose your remote. Note that if you have other routers on your network, you need to connect to the Verizon-supplied one (or have the other router(s) in bridge mode) to use the remote. Live TV works fine over routers on different segments on your network, as long as the primary gateway to the Internet is your FiOS router.

It would be nice if Verizon integrated its Flex View On Demand service with this app, so you could watch a show where you left off, jumping from your phone to your TV to your iPad. Better yet, if you could watch your DVR recordings or all the pay and free programs that FiOS On Demand offers on your iPad, it could be a great thing. Well, that's something to hope for in a future version of the FiOS Mobile app at least.

Remember the V-Chip?
Parental controls worked fine, even blocking the thumbnails if the rating level isn't low enough. This can shield your children from stumbling on age-inappropriate material while surfing on the iPad. You can set age limits for 7, 13, 17, and 18 years, or disable age limits entirely. Age ratings are determined by the rating for each show in the TV listings.

A Win for Fiber
The FiOS Mobile app for iPad is a good addition to their EC-winning service, and will at least allow you to refute the argument that "cable is better" because it allows live streaming to iPads. The app will be better once more channels are added to the lineup, as well as more functionality, such as On Demand streaming. All in all, however, this app is a great jump forward for FiOS users, and one that I hope will improve with age.

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