A company called Kwiry has enabled an interesting feature that lets users program their Tivos via text message.  You simply link up your Tivo DVR with an account on Kwiry.com and you can remotely program your DVR on the road.

Just send a message like “Tivo American Idol” to 59479 (KWIRY) and the application sends the command to your DVR.

Kwiry originally was unveiled as a way to perform web searches via text messages; if you type in a word or phrase you get results back on your Kwiry.com account. Think of it as a quick way to get something out of your mind. Kwiry’s slogan is “text it before you forget it” and I think that sums up their service precisely. Kwiry can also connect with other online services like Twitter, Facebook, and NetFlix.

Generally, this service is great for consumers that don’t have a smartphone and can’t access the web (or Tivo’s web site) from their phones.

After hearing about the service today, I signed up with Kwiry, and set up a connection with Tivo by signing in with my Tivo login and password. Then, I was able to choose which Tivo DVR your texts go too. You can also change the recording priority and Season Pass options.

I then texted “Tivo Gossip Girl” and immediately got back a response on my iPhone:

So overall, it seems to work. It even selected the HD version of the show, which I thought was nifty.

However, I walked over to my living room and checked the Tivo to see if it received the command. However after about 20 minutes, I hadn’t received a confirmation message yet. (I’ll report back on how long it actually takes.)  In theory, it should record the next available recording, but CNet’s Crave points out that it may not work well with programs that have lots of repeats. Like everything on VH1 and MTV.

Overall, I think the Tivo/Kwiry service is interesting but it’s not likely something I would use everyday. I already have a smart phone and can access the web on the go. In fact, ever since I added a shortcut to Tivo.com on my iPhone, I’ve been discovering lots of new programs and movies.  I manage to log into Tivo’s mobile site every few days to check in on new shows and other recommendations. Tivo’s mobile web site also looks very good and I don’t mind taking the extra few minutes to visit.

The other downside is: what happens when you spell the show incorrectly? Or incompletely? I haven’t played around with this much, so I don’t have many answers.

Now that I have a Kwiry account I’ll keep track and see if I keep using it, or if it’s just a interesting idea with no real staying power.

Every day, I wake up and ask myself:  Why can’t TV be more like the web? Why can’t it be interactive? Why can’t it be social? Why can’t I get the Internet on my TV?

Ok, this isn’t the first thought I have, but I’ve definitely been thinking a lot about interactive TV. Just recently, I saw that Yahoo is delivering Samsung HDTVs that use Yahoo!’s Widget Engine. What are TV Widgets? They are tiny applications that allow some form of interactive web content that enhances the TV viewing experience.

Only select Samsung’s 2009 flat-panel HDTV lines will support the new TV Widget service, called “Internet@TV – Content Service.”  The Samsung HDTVs will include an Ethernet port and allow for a Wi-Fi connection via a USB dongle. (What a weird world we live in when dongle and widget are actual tech words.)

Applications that will be enabled on TVs include a bunch of Yahoo! properties like Weather, News Finance and Flickr. Developers can also use the Widget Development Kit (WDK) to create almost anything to the TV. (I wonder if anyone will build some Google widgets, hmm.)

Overall, I was really happy to read that Yahoo’s Widgets would enable streaming video, like YouTube.  It’s clearly a step in the right direction, and these kinds of Internet/TV hybrids will be the norm in the future.

What sucks is that this is not a standard; it’s Yahoo’s approach to TV widgets. Will programmers and content companies get behind it? Will they only want to deliver to Samsung HDTV sets? Clearly, Yahoo! sees this as a first step to signing on more TV manufacturers, however it’s too early to know what consumers will do with this.

My feeling is that Yahoo’s TV widgets are  a great idea, but they won’t have much of an impact with anyone (consumers, advertisers, content owners, developers, etc.) because there will likely be slow adoption of broadband-enabled sets, and in particular, Samsung TV sets. Once Yahoo! signs up more TV manufacturers, it may be more compelling.

One thing I keep wondering is: What would Google do with broadband-enabled TV?

According to lots of rumors in the last week, Apple is looking to unveil a home media server that can share a user’s home video, music and photos from anywhere in the home or over the Internet. Yes, that’s all your media served up in a cloud.

According to 9to5Mac, it would run through your MobileMe account, where a dynamic DNS will tie into Apple’s home media server. Essentially, this box will let you access all of your media (video, music or photos) anywhere in the world as long as you have a broadband connection.

According to the rumors, the media server would run on Apple’s Time Machine, not the Leopard operating system.  This makes me wonder what will happen to Apple TV, which has fizzled in the market. It’s sold so poorly that Jobs even called Apple TV a “hobby”.

So is this a real product Apple is working on? I sure hope so! Odds are it won’t be released during this year’s MacWorld show, but you never know. I would pay about $10 to $20 a month for a service like that.  It would be really convenient because I wouldn’t need to carry CD or DVDs with me when I travel, and I don’t have to worry if I have all my music with me wherever I go.

Not to mention, having instant access to all my media anywhere in the world would put my Xbox Windows Media Center to shame. (Uh, Microsoft, maybe you should work on something like this too?)

As if that isn’t enticing enough, there’s talk allowing the iPhone to access your media on the cloud.  So you won’t even need a computer, just your iPhone to access all your media. However, there is already one iPhone app that let you listen to your home music files. Simpfly Media says that their software allows users to access iTunes from iPhone via 3G or Wi-Fi networks.  I haven’t used the software yet, but am testing it in the next few days and will report back here.

This morning at CES, Tivo unveiled a newly redesigned search function called Tivo Search.

The existing “Swivel Search” will be phased out, which is great news, if you ask me. Swivel Search was mostly a joke, as soon as it was released. It wasn’t very useful and never served up satisfying or relevant results.

The more recent Tivo software update included a new search tool which was much more satisfying. The new search UI takes it to the next step by taking advantage of HDTV screens and  allowing for more on-screen details without lots of digging. Tivo said the redesign means “less less navigation and quick, accurate results.”

Over at Gizmodo, they have some screen shots that indeed shows off the wider screen format, as well as video windows along the top row. This may mean that users can now continue to watch their existing show, while searching. Or Tivo may include some advertisements.

The good news is that the search gives you the HD options first, so you can record those, rather than SD. The best news? You can get YouTube search results! This is a new addition from the old Tivo search functions. I’m so glad they included YouTube results, since there’s lots of room for discovery there.

The bad news is that Tivo Search doesn’t look up your NetFlix account or queue. How’s that for lame? Tivo is definitely pushing Amazon VOD content in search results, which makes me believe they might have some revenue deal, or something with primary search placement. Anyone else know how the Tivo/Amazon deal is structured?

Anyway, I haven’t fired up my Tivo this morning yet, but the company said that all Tivo Series 3, Tivo HD and Tivo HD XL boxes should be enabled with the new search today.

LG announced a new TV with the ability to stream movies from NetFlix without a set-top box. Essentially, the TV comes with an Ethernet connection and Linux operating system to run applications and stream content right to the TV.

Other TV manufacturers, like Sony, have said they will include Ethernet ports into their sets, but this is the first time that any application has been enabled directly into a TV set.

According to Gizmodo, the TV sets will cost about $200 to $300 more than similar TVs without NetFlix streaming. That’s rather interesting since you can buy the Roku NetFlix Player for $99. I imagine the disparity is because Roku is taking a loss on every Roku box they sell, and are making money from NetFlix somehow.

The other downside is that the LG TV sets will probably not have Wi-Fi. If that’s the case, you’ll need to run an Ethernet cable into your living room and connect it to your TV. (Actually, I’ve already done this because of the set-top box clutter, but that’s another story.)  The Roku box comes with an Ethernet port, but also comes with Wi-Fi.  If you’re into high quality video, you should probably connect with the Ethernet cable, because quality via Wi-Fi isn’t as good. There’s a longer start buffer, and seeking to different parts of the show is also very slow.

In effect, the only advantage to these broadband enabled TVs is avoiding another set-top box. That’s a noble goal, but it’s not very compelling or earth-shattering to most users. Another box vs. another $300 for your TV.

GigaOm has a post about Broadband TV, as he calls it, but he’s looking at it from NetFlix’s point of view.  And he makes a pretty good point about NetFlix. First of all, NetFlix already has the main ingredients to success as a primary VOD supplier. They have agreements with Hollywood, and they also have the technology to deliver movies over broadband connections.  Plus there’s the stand-alone Roku NetFLix Player box, and now broadband TVs.  So NetFlix needs to weather the storm now, and wait until the world (and technology) catches on to Internet-delivered entertainment into the home.

Eventually, I believe all HDTVs will be broadband enabled, so this is a good start.It’s a good bet that set-top boxes will disappear eventually, but not for a very long time.  Hopefully, future HDTVs will have broadband connections and an open source TV platform for running and creating applications. Imagine what creative applications we can experience on our TV screens. Imagine all the Internet companies that would rush to create applications. There would be Flickr, YouTube, Facebook, Google–anything on the web delivered to the TV. Think about the iPhone App model, except on the TV screen.

Interesting eh?