Customers of Verizon’s FiOS TV can now control their television sets using Motorola Droid or HTC Imagio mobile phones. Verizon says the mobile remote has virtually the same functionality as the standard FiOS remote plus additional features including the ability to instantly transfer photos from the handset to the television screen.
“With FiOS Mobile Remote we’re leveraging the in-home FiOS network to marry the cellphone to the TV for simpler, more convenient navigation, along with entirely new phone-to-TV experiences,” said Shawn Strickland, Verizon’s vice president of FiOS product management in the company’s Feb. 18 announcement of the new offering. “This kind of feature underscores for customers how powerful the FiOS in-home network is—and the potential it has for constant innovation.”
FiOS TV customers use the application store on their mobile handset to access the new capabilities, then open a FiOS TV widget to register their wireless phone number. Verizon plans to expand the capability to other phones in “the coming months.”