AT&T launched a new mobile app Monday that is already enabling the company’s U-verse TV subscribers to remotely manage digital video recorders as well as download and view programs in full-screen mode on Apple’s iPhone. Called U-verse Mobile, the new offering is currently available for download at Apple’s App Store.
The goal is to enable iPhone users to take their U-verse TV experience wherever they go at no extra charge, noted David Christopher, chief marketing officer at AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “No cable provider comes close to matching the cross-platform experience we’re delivering today,” he said. “And we’ll continue to add unique features that further integrate these screens.”
Wi-Fi Only
Netflix and the Dish Network — through the satellite-TV provider’s acquisition of Slingmedia in 2007 — likewise offer remote TV viewing to mobile handset users. But in light of AT&T’s heavy commitment to Apple’s iPhone platform, the new mobile app is perhaps far more important to both the U.S. communications provider and its customers.
Any U-verse TV subscriber can now download the new app to schedule and otherwise manage downloads to a home DVR. However, only subscribers to AT&T’s premium U300 package and higher-level subscription tiers will be able to download and watch programs on the iPhone. Even then, AT&T’s free mobile app will only download U-verse content over a home wireless network or any available Wi-Fi hot spot, sparing the wireless carrier’s 3G network from more data-overload problems.
After downloading U-verse Mobile from the App Store, users will need to log in to their U-verse accounts, noted a spokesperson identified as Seth in AT&T’s new video demo at YouTube. “Once you do that for the first time, you’ll never have to do it again,” he said.
To download a TV program, select a series, locate the desired episode, and then click on the…