Verizon has added yet another useful widget to their FiOS digital television service, which further blurs the line between data/Internet and traditional news broadcasting. The new widget is referred to officially as the Associated Press widget, and it serves as a replacement for the company’s outgoing Headline News widget. As with all Verizon FiOS widgets, the new Associated Press widget can be accessed and controlled via the Widget Bazaar menu of any FiOS receiver. The Associated Press Widget is customizable and can operate as a full screen program or as an interactive overlay to video services delivered by the FiOS network. Widgets and TV-based apps running on set top boxes (STBs) have become the latest rage in digital television and data services arena, but what sets it apart from other offerings is how well it integrates with other aspects of the FiOS system, particularly the FiOS digital television service.
Your News, Your Way – Without Sacrifices
In normal operation, the Associated Press widget simply scrolls headlines and short informational blurbs for easy scanning on one part of the screen while allowing uninterrupted viewing of shows in the remaining portion of the screen. The approach taken by Verizon and the Associated Press’s developers is simple in concept, yet appealing in its execution. Before the fusion of data and digital television services, consumers were forced to use PiP (Picture-In-Picture) technology in order to receive news updates and watch another program at the same. The experience could hardly be called useful or pleasant, often requiring the user to swap back and forth between a news program and whatever else they were attempting to watch. This is why the FiOS approach of integrating data-driven elements into the display of any program is highly desirable, and it does not even impact other aspects of the FiOS system. For example, recording and other DVR features are not impacted or impeded by the news feeds or even browsing.
What News Do You Want to Know About?
Instead of forcing viewers to scan through the hundreds of news headlines issued by the AP on a daily basis, the Associated Pres news widget features eight selectable news categories that will determine which stories are presented to the FiOS digital television viewer(s). The news categories presently include: Business, Entertainment & Sports, Health, Science & Technology, Travel, U.S. News, and World News. It would seem likely that other news categories and further options will emerge over time, and that the overall presentation may undergo adjustments and/or additional features such as the ability to customize the presentation. The current implementation is by no means lacking in terms of presentation or features, but it does not necessarily compete with some of the customized news websites.
What News Does Everyone Else Want to Know About?
FiOS customers with multiple televisions and FiOS television units can set different preferences for each television. This could come in handy if the parents like world and U.S. news to be displayed on the television in the master bedroom, junior wants to follow the latest sports news in his bedroom, and the family wants entertainment news available whenever they sit down together to enjoy family programming. But there is more to the new Associated Press widget than just its impressive overlay mode that turns any channel into a news-rimmed channel; the full screen mode is very useful and can reduce the need to fight over the family computer.
Full Screen Mode
In full screen mode, the Associated Press widget allows for regular text-based browsing and photo-browsing for those who prefer photojournalism. Browsing the various stories is not very different than visiting a news site, but the photo-based browsing mode is very chic. Easy scrolling of photos makes sifting through stories quick, but it also allows many stories to play via a series of slideshows. Not all AP stories come with more than one picture, but that is a limitation of the Associated Press and not of the Verizon FiOS service or their Widget technology. Stories that do have multiple pictures are presented elegantly in full screen mode, highlighting the talented achievements of the AP’s numerous professional photographers.
Saving the Best For Last the Future?
The best part about the Associated Press widget is that it is now available to all new and current Verizon FiOS TV customers at no additional charge. While being available as part of existing packages is certainly exciting and noteworthy, the new widget’s ability to seamlessly integrate data-driven services into the digital television viewing experience may be impressive it could be only a stepping stone towards future progress. The television of tomorrow might be very different than the television of yesterday, but it seems very likely that today’s television with data-driven content integrated with programming is going to be a big part of tomorrow’s viewing experience.
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