dishes

A popular TV show and movie discovery app just got a major update during CES that adds social components to its already full-featured cable listing arsenal.

Peel Personal TV Show Guide (free) is an app that changes the way you watch TV by gathering your personal preferences and giving you recommendations on your iPhone based on the data.

The polished interface of Peel asks you a few questions upon launch so it can deliver the type of shows you'll want to watch and tell you when they will show in your area. On first setup, the app has you choose your cable service, and then lists out several categories like Drama, Comedy, and Kids, and asks you to reorder the list by your personal preference with your favorites at the top. You'll then reorder a list of sports in the same fashion. When you're finished, you'll see the main interface of the app, with recommended shows that are currently playing in your area based on your preferences.

What we really like about Peel is how it lays out movies and shows by category so you can browse based on your mood at the moment.… Read more

Dish launches the "Hopper," with the first live kangaroo ever on stage at CES; Steve Ballmer explains why this is Microsoft's last CES keynote; and Justin Timberlake takes the stage at Panasonic's press event to announce MySpace TV.

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded, from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas:

LAS VEGAS--At the Consumer Electronics Show here, satellite TV provider Dish Network went kangaroo crazy as it took the wraps off "Hopper," a new multiroom DVR that, with the help of "Joey" units, will let people watch recorded programs on TVs throughout their house.

The new DVR also lets users record prime-time programming on all four major networks at the same time.

The company also announced a new high-speed broadband service with partner ViaSat that will launch in the "first quarter." It's called Dish Broadband and will allegedly provide up to 12 Mbps … Read more

LAS VEGAS--People in rural America hankering for faster broadband service have a new option from Dish.

The company, which has changed its name from Dish Network, today at CES announced a broadband service with ViaStat that offers a big jump in speeds from those of typical satellite services. The service, which Dish announced with its Hopper whole-home DVR service, is expected to go live this summer when a new satellite is launched.

The company says the Dish Broadband service will deliver downstream rates of 12Mbps and upload speed of 3Mbps. For comparison, the fastest satellite-based broadband service from Hughes is … Read more

LAS VEGAS--More music, more magic, more memory, more movies.

That's the marketing message Dish is serving up here at CES, introducing a new kangaroo-themed, whole-home HD DVR system called the Hopper that includes a 2TB drive and can record up to six programs simultaneously while pushing content out to accompanying "Joey" boxes in up to three additional rooms.

The company has also announced a new high-speed Broadband service with partner ViaSat that will launch in the "first quarter." It's called Dish Broadband and it will allegedly provide up to 12 Mbps download and up … Read more

Not long ago, I wrote a piece speculating on what T-Mobile would do if the AT&T deal fell apart.

Well, looks like "if" has come true. So I thought I'd go back to some highlights from the earlier post.

By itself, T-Mobile is a wireless operator struggling to keep its best customers from leaving. Over the past several months, the carrier has aggressively cut prices and made itself a haven for bargain seekers--all for the sake of sparking a little growth. As a result, it resembles a large prepaid carrier more than one of the … Read more

Dish Network is sitting pretty right now.

The demise of AT&T's $39 billion deal to acquire T-Mobile leaves AT&T in a vulnerable position, that of a company in need of wireless spectrum but with few sources from whom to acquire it.

Verizon Wireless has only exacerbated the dilemma with its own move to acquire spectrum held by the cable providers, which shores up its own position. The broadcasters, meanwhile, have been sitting on a stash of spectrum and have been fighting attempts by the Federal Communications Commission to repurpose it for the wireless industry.

AT&… Read more

As the four stamps in my passport can attest, Australia is my travel destination of choice.

The only problem is that with such an immense place, even a two-week trip will show you only a corner of the country. So when an Aussie friend suggested that during a recent visit, I take a road trip to the small town where he was born, I jumped at the chance. And when I learned that the town was Parkes, I got even more excited. … Read more

If T-Mobile USA doesn't end up with AT&T, Dish Network is waiting in the wings.

Dish is interested in a partnership with T-Mobile, pooling together their collective wireless spectrum to create a stronger competitor to AT&T and Verizon Wireless, Dish CEO Joseph Clayton said in an interview with Bloomberg.

It's one of a number of alternative options that T-Mobile could pursue if the AT&T deal falls through.

T-Mobile's primary justification for its merger with AT&T is the lack of spectrum and parent Deutsche Telekom AG's reluctance to put … Read more