TiVo Releases Official Android App

TiVo released more than a software update for the TiVo Premier tonight, they also released the long-awaited official TiVo Android App! That may explain why they recently had the 3rd party TiVo Commander app pulled from the Android Market, to eliminate any potential confusion with this official app. I now have both installed on my Galaxy Nexus and the icons are nearly identical. While TiVo Commander was a great app as a stopgap the official app is simply superior in every way, as far as I can tell.

The Android app looks much like the most recent update of the iOS version, and includes pretty much the same functionality. The app works with TiVo Series4 (Premiere family) and Series3 (S3/HD) units, though some of the features only work with the Premiere:

• Browse the channel guide without interrupting the show you’re watching – View shows up to 14 days in advance
• Schedule TV show/movie recordings and ongoing (Season Pass®) recordings
• Browse your recorded shows list and play a show from the App
• Find exactly what you want to watch – Search across TV, Netflix, Amazon Instant Video & Blockbuster —and see integrated results on Demand to find what you are looking for
• Explore cast and crew while watching a show
• Comment about what you’re watching on Facebook or Twitter
• Use a TiVo remote control replica or our intuitive, gesture-based remote control
• Manage your ongoing (Season Pass®) recordings and your To-Do List – Delete and reprioritize recordings for your favorite shows
• Instantly schedule, search and browse for shows while you’re away from home

If you have an Android device running 2.1 Froyo or later, grab it now.

Note that this only works with TiVo Series3 (S3/HD) and Series4 (Premiere) units. It does not work with the old Series1 or Series2 units, nor any DirecTV TiVo model. The description does explicitly state that it works with RCN & Suddenlink provided TiVo units – and I’d guess it also works for Grande Communications and Charter customers, but it’d be good to have confirmation of that. Also, you must enable the Network Remote Control feature under Settings & Messages -> Settings -> Remote, CableCard, & Devices -> Network Remote Control. Or whatever the path is on your specific model and software revision – just look for it under Settings. If you don’t have it enabled, the app cannot connect to your box.

On thing I want to call out, the app description says this is for your“Android phone or 7inch tablet”. That’s oddly specific. I don’t know why I wouldn’t work on a larger tablet, even if it isn’t fully optimized for them. Just as there are different versions of the iOS app for the iPhone/iPod Touch and the iPad there is probably a tablet-optimized version of the Android app. If you have a larger tablet and you give this a try, leave a comment about how it works for you. I’d also love to hear from Virgin Media TiVo users on whether this app works for you.

Some screenshots:

EDIT: TiVo published a video overview today: