Couch potatoes go green, use iPhone for TV listings instead of dead trees

iPhone and iPod touch owners in the U.S. and Canada can toss their paper television listings into the trash. i.TV is a really great free app that puts all the television show times onto your iPhone or iPod touch. And there’s more here than just tv shows here. The i.TV app also gives you local movie listings including location and show times, and it even gives you access to related DVD titles.

The makers of i.TV are rolling out new services that will enhance i.TV’s core product offering of television listings. The first service to be added is Netflix integration which enables you to add a DVD to your Netflix queue, right from the tv listings view. So, let’s say your browsing for something to watch on tv tonight and you see a movie playing at the same time your sports game is aired. With i.TV you can add the movie to your Netflix queue, then watch the game. i.TV is promising even better features in the near future, including live video streams, remote VCR recording, and tap-to-buy movie tickets.

At first glance, i.TV seems a bit redundant considering that most set-top and cable boxes have embedded menus that display show times. However, i.TV comes in handy when you don’t want to disturb others who might be in the middle of a movie, or when you want to view listings on the go. For that reason alone, the free i.TV iPhone app is worth the download and the additional features make it even better.

Switching the TV listings for your local cable or satellite is as simple as entering your zip code, then selecting your local carrier (comcast, directv, verizon, etc). i.TV offers over 144,000 TV and movie listings, the entire Netflix DVD catalog, thousands of TV and movie previews, detailed show descriptions, celebrity bios and photos with links to Wikipedia articles. You can share movie and TV information with your friends through the i.TV app. You can even write your own movie reviews, but you’ll want to make them short unless you like typing a lot on your iPhone.

This is a great app, well-executed and improving weekly. There are a few minor bugs, but hey, it’s free and like we said, the i.TV team is constantly updating the app. If you watch any television or movies whatsoever, then the i.TV iPhone app should be on your short list of free, must-have apps.

• i.TV, the ultimate TV guide - Free [app store]

 

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