The Downside

Sorry for the hiatus, kids.  It’s been a wild ride the past year or so as I’ve changed jobs, gotten married, and bought an iPhone, but I’ll get back to those topics later.

Today I want to reach out to Tivo, the makers of one of my favorite devices, and ask them to please, please open an app store.  I don’t ask this only for myself, but also for the sake of the Tivo Company, as I believe an app store could save it from the subscriber stagnation and lackluster financial performance that have plagued it lately.  Here are just a few of the wins they could realize:

• No other major DVR offers an app store, so it’s a perfect time to break new ground and put even more ground between themselves and other hardware-based DVRs.  We’ve seen what app stores have done for other platforms like Facebook and iPhone.
• Newer software-based DVRs and media centers are catching up to your functionality, so let third-party developers help you stay ahead of the game.  If you give them a compelling revenue model, they will innovate and keep your device on the cutting edge, so you don’t have to.
• As a DVR that is offered on a standard hardware platform, it should be relatively easy to give developers kits that will let them leverage the hardware.  The PC software-based media centers can’t compete on this because they need to accomodate a plethora of hardware types that users could have.
• In the Tivo, owners already have a functioning computer sitting right there plugged into our TVs, so let third-party developers help us take advantage of its full pontential. 

• Stream my live and recorded shows so I can see them on other PCs or devices that aren’t connected to a Tivo (who needs a Slingobox?)
• Email
• Web browsing
• Instant messaging
• “Widgets” similar to the Yahoo/Samsung offering that could offer sports scores, stock quotes, etc.
• More robust ways to show my media hosted on other devices on my Tivo (current Tivo methods are kludgy)
• And of course…games