Peel universal control - TV a lot more friendly
Why we're here
At Peel, we've felt for some time that it's getting tougher and tougher to sit back and just watch TV. While it's awesome that we have seemingly unlimited choices of shows to watch, finding a show and actually getting it onto your TV has become tough–channels are impossible to remember, grids are painful to navigate, remotes are all over the house, and sources are multiplying like rabbits in the Spring. When you turn on TV, you're just looking to see your shows. We can help with that.
Why we're here
At Peel, we've felt for some time that it's getting tougher and tougher to sit back and just watch TV. While it's awesome that we have seemingly unlimited choices of shows to watch, finding a show and actually getting it onto your TV has become tough–channels are impossible to remember, grids are painful to navigate, remotes are all over the house, and sources are multiplying like rabbits in the Spring. When you turn on TV, you're just looking to see your shows. We can help with that.
The Peel app
We designed Peel to put the shows first. Peel suggests programming you like, and it remembers when you interact with one, whether by sharing it, indicating it's a favorite, or cutting it from your Top Picks. The more you use the guide, the more tailored your Top Picks get.
How it works
Peel universal control takes it to the next step. Once you choose a show, simply tap Watch it on TV, and bang: you're watching. The grid is gone, channels and sources become invisible, and your inputs change like magic. It truly is TV made friendlier, but we didn't stop there.
The Gesture Pad
As a tiny touchscreen with simple and immediate interaction, a smart phone or tablet is the perfect place to choose and access a show. However, once you're watching, your attention should be on the big screen. With no plastic buttons, a glass screen can be tough to navigate without looking. To address that, after you choose to watch a show, our interface switches to what we call the Gesture Pad. Want more volume? Simply swipe up, anywhere on your screen. Swipe down for volume down, and right or left to channel surf up and down. Tap in the middle for mute, or double tap anywhere on the screen to switch to menu control. Look, ma–no eyes!
The Peel fruit
How do we make all this happen? A little love, a little magic, and a little orb we call the Peel fruit. The Peel fruit sits almost anywhere in your living room, with no lights, no buttons, and no cables, and it controls your whole entertainment system, including the TV, cable box, Blu-Ray player, AV receiver, and more. No more aiming at the system while your complicated remote goes through a long series of commands: control simply just happens. Your iPhone talks to the fruit through the other part of our system, the Peel cable, which plugs into your wireless router. The Peel cable sends off commands, and the Peel fruit never misses–even when you're in the other room grabbing a beer.
More news soon
Over the next few weeks, we'll post more about how the controls work, how to switch activities, when you can expect to see Peel on retail shelves and, of course, all our favorite shows.
As always, if you have any questions, feel free to write me.
Stay tuned,
Alec
