Oh! Gizmo

By Chris Scott Barr

Remember back when TVs were just boxes that were just used for watching movies, cable and playing video games? I guess that wasn’t all that long ago, since the TV I just bought a few months ago still needs another device in order to really do anything. However, soon you’ll be able to go and get yourself a Vizio HDTV that comes with all sorts of cool applications built-in.

I’ve got a small PC that sits in my entertainment center which gives me access to streaming video, audio and of course the web. With the new line of Vizio XVT HDTVs, I could almost get rid of it. Owners will have access to free streaming content from Revision3, Showtime and Pandora while also being able to subscribe to services such as Vudu, Netflix, Blockbuster OnDemand, Amazon Video On Demand and Rhapsody. The icing on the cake is access to Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Yahoo Widgets.

Of course all of these features is going to require the use of something a little more advanced than your standard remote. After all, who wants to Twitter using arrow keys and an on-screen keyboard? The new Bluetooth remote will have a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, which should be useful enough to hack out the 140 characters needed to tell everyone what you’re watching. Without internet access these new programs are virtually useless, which is why you’ll have the option of either connecting via an ethernet cable or 802.11n wireless. These new XVT models will hit stores next month starting at $749 for a 32-inch and going up from there.

[ Vizio ] VIA [ CrunchGear ]