The Hype: AT&T added a bit of techno razzle-dazzle to U-verse TV with an app that lets subs control the TV with their voice — à la Apple’s Siri — or hand gestures. The U-verse Easy Remote App was designed for people with vision and hearing impairments and other disabilities, although the telco also played up the general coolness factor of being able to talk to your TV. The app lets subscribers change the channel, by saying the show title or channel number, and issue other commands. Other features include multiple screen-color, button and font-size choices, as well as onetouch access to closed captioning.
What It Means: AT&T claimed U-verse is the first major TV service to let customers use voice commands to control their TVs. Microsoft ’s Xbox 360 game console, with the Kinect att achment, also provides voice- and gestureactivated commands.
Pricing and Availability: The app is free to download; customers must subscribe to both U-verse TV and U-verse High-Speed Internet.
