Comcast and Tile have teamed up for a new way to track down lost items tagged with a Tile device, putting the search results right on your TV screen. The new functionality has been baked into Xfinity X1, and allows for voice searches using the system's X1 Voice Remote.
Comcast plans to bake a Netflix subscription into its TV bundles, giving X1 subscribers package options that will condense the payments into a single bill. The two companies have been working together since late 2016, when Comcast first released its Xfinity X1 Netflix app that integrated the on-demand service into the set-top box.
Comcast has announced plans to increase its Xfinity Internet speeds throughout the northeastern US, at least for customers who subscribe to its "most popular" plans. Those plans include both Performance Pro and Blast, according to Comcast, which says the speed boost will apply to both new and existing customers located in the ISP's Northeast Division states.
Comcast just announced a big change to its Xfinity Mobile MVNO service, which allows its customers to get mobile service through the company via Verizon's network and Comcast WiFi hotspots. Today the company announced that, finally, it allows customers to bring their own device. There's a big limitation with Xfinity Mobile's BYOD service for now, though: it only accepts iPhones.
TiVo has announced that its Rovi company and affiliates have filed lawsuits against Comcast in the District Courts in Massachusetts and California. The lawsuits allege patent infringement on Comcast's part, saying the service provider's X1 platform infringes upon Rovi patents. Those patents cover technology including voice functionality, advanced DVR features, multi-device pausing and resuming, and more.
Home automation and IoT services have been a pretty big focus of CES 2018 thus far, and Comcast wants in the action. Today Comcast announced its intention to turn its Xfinity platform into the centerpiece of a new home automation service, which will be free to existing Xfinity customers. When this roll out is finished, 15 million Xfinity customers will have access to these new home automation features.
This week Representative Marsha Blackburn introduced a the "Open Internet Preservation Act" in an effort to lock Trump/Pai repeal of Net Neutrality into law. Several major news outlets have taken Blackburn's bait in suggesting this new OIP Act would bring Net Neutrality back after the FCC removed it. Said the Washington Post: "Days after the FCC repealed its net neutrality rules, the GOP has a bill to replace them." Instead, this act would enshrine what the FCC did earlier this month.
The FCC just voted 3/2 in favor of a declaratory ruling which effectively destroys Net Neutrality protections in the USA. Under the guise of a user-friendly name "Restoring Internet Freedom," the three Republican board members of the FCC voted to destroy the rules set in place by the previous FCC board. This Trump-installed board just destroyed the most important set of rules ever made for the internet - put there by the FCC during the Obama administration.
Comcast's xFi Advanced Gateway is now available in all of the service provider's Gigabit Internet markets, giving those customers a new way to get Gigabit speeds over WiFi. Comcast brags that its xFi Advanced Gateway offers its most advanced WiFi tech ever, giving subscribers super fast wireless speeds able to handle all the demands of a connected home.
Comcast's Xfinity TV customers with certain Sony Android TVs will soon be able to access the content directly through the television using the Xfinity TV Partner app. The new support will be arriving early next year to Sony Android TVs, marking the latest expansion of the Xfinity TV Partner Program. Through it, the service provider is bringing its Xfinity TV service to various smart televisions.
Comcast Xfinity X1 customers can now stream the entire Netflix library of Ultra HD 4K content, the service provider has announced. Though Netflix's UHD offerings are still slight at this time, the number of shows that support 4K displays are growing, as are the number of subscribers with TVs and smartphones capable of streaming such a high resolution. The feature is obviously only available to Xfinity X1 customers who have 4K-capable devices.
Comcast and LG have teamed up to make life easier for Xfinity TV subscribers who have one of the newest LG smart TVs. In the near future, those customers will be able to access their Xfinity TV cable service through the smart TVs directly using Comcast's Xfinity Partner app. The app will be supported by LG's 2017 and 2018 smart TVs running webOS.