Hands-on: Simple.TV might be the next big cord-cutting device

The Simple.TV over-the-air DVR could be an excellent choice for those looking to cut their cable subscription.

Simple.TV's DVR without a hard drive or video output sounds may sound crazy, but it could end up being a killer product for cable-cutters.

That's the impression I got after spending some hands-on time with the over-the-air-friendly DVR, which was already working on an iPad and a Roku 2 XS box in the booth.

Hands-on: Simple.TV might be the next big cord-cutting device

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To recap from my initial story, Simple.TV allows you to access over-the-air TV programs, either live or stored on a connected hard drive (that you supply), from a number of devices on your home network--at launch there are apps for Roku, Google TV, Boxee, and iPad. So fire up your iPad and you can watch live broadcast TV or any of the recordings on the connected hard drive.

Simple.TV's iPad app is nicely designed and lets you set recordings, watch live TV, or previously recorded shows.

The iPad app is seriously slick. There's a nicely laid out interface for browsing what's currently on TV and you can set the DVR to record right in the app or watch live. Even with dodgy connectivity issues of the CES showroom floor, the app was surprisingly responsive pausing live TV and fast-forwarding through recorded content. Even more impressive was that the live content we were accessing was from an off-site Simple.TV box, a la Slingbox.

The EPG interface on the Roku app could use some work.

The Roku app was having some connectivity issues, but we got to see the design of the interface. It's much more basic than what's on the iPad app, but you can still watch live TV and access recordings. The EPG interface could certainly use more screen real estate and we'd prefer network names like CBS vs. "KPIXDT", but the app isn't finished yet.

Most encouraging for cord-cutters is that Simple.TV's CEO and President Mark Ely clarified that you won't really need to pay that $5 monthly fee to get good EPG data. Simple.TV is providing basic EPG data (not just the data included with an over-the-air TV signal) without a subscription, despite what's implied by the chart on Simple.TV's Web site. The premium service is still required for watching content or live TV remotely (i.e. placeshifting) and "season pass"-like automated recordings, but those looking for just basic over-the-air recording won't need to pay.

An iPhone full of over-the-air TV recordings.

Simple.TV will also have a Web interface, with an HTML5 video player for accessing content on your Simple.TV. I was also surprised to hear that you can import your recorded programs right into iTunes, allowing you to offload shows onto an iPhone or iPad. It's a great solution for you're planning on taking a long flight without Wi-Fi, but I can already foresee legal threats from TV networks. (Disclsoure: CNET is a CBS property.)

The biggest limitation as it stands now remains the single tuner, which means you can't record two programs at once. The Simple.TV does have an antenna out connection, which you can run to your TV's tuner if you want to watch a different live program while the DVR records, although you won't be able to pause live TV.

Of course, lots of products demo great, then end up as duds, but it looks like Simple.TV has a good chance of standing out in a market without a lot of compelling options. Even with the required add-ons like a hard drive and a streaming media box, the Simple.TV's $150 price is attractive, compared to the $400 Channel Master TV. I'm looking forward to seeing how it fares in the real world when the Simple.TV is released in the spring.

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The joy of Microsoft's 'avoid ghetto' GPS patent

Indeed, not so long ago, one lady sued Google because the directions its map offered led her (she believed) to be struck by a car . Now Microsoft has been granted a patent that is designed to make its maps more pedestrian-friendly. Somehow, this patent has immediately been dubbed the "avoid ghetto" feature . Someone seems to have already attempted a ghetto-related mapping exercise, in Ohio. (Credit: CC JimBobThe Boss/Flickr ) The gist of it seems to be that Microsoft's GPS--which will reportedly be inserted into Windows Phones in the future--will use input from more varied and up-to-date sources in order to create suggested routes. Among these sources are crime statistics. Which has led some to the thought that this will somehow be an insult to poor neighborhoods. What is unclear, at least from my reading of the patent--which isn't written by anything resembling a human hand or mind--is what kind of crime statistics the GPS might choose to use. It's o

Microsoft says 'see ya' to CES (live blog)

LAS VEGAS--Microsoft has sung its CES swan song. The company announced plans last month to walk away from the Consumer Electronics Show after a nearly two-decade involvement with the confab and the organization behind it. That made tonight's keynote address from Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer the beginning of the end. Microsoft didn't make any major announcements (other than the fact that Kinect is coming to Windows on February 1 ). But then, the company has said the timing of the annual confab doesn't generally align with its product news milestones, and that's the key reason it's bailing on the show. Microsoft talked up Windows Phone (its mobile phone operating system that's been getting some praise from the tech press), gave a look at some of the upcoming trim ultrabook computers running Windows 7 , demoed some previously disclosed features of Windows 8 (which should debut toward the end of 2012), and touted its tile-based Metro interface.

!!!....Electronics world....!!!

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