Peel Turns Your iPhone Into A TV Universal Remote

Peel is about to turn your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch into a souped-up universal remote. With Peel's new Wi-Fi "fruit", your iOS device will be capable of finding your favorite TV shows, recommending programs to you, operating your home theater system and posting your review to Facebook and Twitter.

Peel is the maker of a free iPhone app launched in October that's like a mashup of TV Guide, Netflix and Flixter. The app lets you use your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch to search for your favorite TV shows, giving you time and channel information. It recommends more TV based on the shows you liked and then hooks you up with your social peeps so you can gab about your favorites.

 
Peel launched its iPhone TV guide app in October, but that was just the start.

Peel has taken the next step of turning that app into a TV controller. Instead of buttons and onscreen menus, you would use the iOS device's gesture-based interface. It finds the shows, changes channels, adjusts volume, all the controls you expect from a universal remote.

The Peel hardware consists of two pieces: the Peel cable and Wi-Fi-enabled Peel fruit. There aren't a lot of details available yet on the system and we've pressed Peel to tell us more. Peel says the fruit (so named because it was designed by Yves Behar of fuseproject to look like an orange) must sit within line-of-sight of a user's entertainment system. The cable plugs into a power outlet and an Ethernet port on a wireless router.

That thing on the table isn't really an orange, its a Peel Fruit.

Like all universal controls, Peel promises that its system works with thousands of models of TVs, DVD and Blu-ray players, cable and satellite boxes, Internet-connected streaming devices like Roku, Tivo and Apple TV, and home theater receivers. It requires iOS 3 or above.

As for price, the company wants prospective customers to log onto its Web site and vote on what they would be willing to pay although it does suggest that "comparable" systems cost about $200. The company has some test units that it's willing to give away via a Priceline-like-make-me-an-offer deal.

Here's the full press release.

Peel Announces Peel Universal Control for iPhone®: a User-Friendly TV Discovery Guide and Universal Remote Control for Home Entertainment Systems

New Features and Hardware for the Free Peel App Give TV Viewers a Unique Way to Control Thousands of Home Entertainment Components, Including Set Top Boxes, TVs, Home Theater Receivers, Blu-Ray Players and More. The Price for Personalized Control? Whatever You Want to Pay

SANTA CLARA, CA--(Marketwire - December 8, 2010) -  Peel announced today new hardware that allows the free Peel discovery iPhone app to control home entertainment systems. This new system brings a new level of simplicity and personalization to discovery and control of television programming. Peel universal control will be available on retail shelves in a matter of weeks.

"Peel feels that channels have become irrelevant to viewers, and networks and sources have become too complicated. When the audience turns on their TV, they're doing so to see their shows, movies, and sports. That's why the Peel universal control centers around programs, not long, boring grids or tons of buttons. Watching, sharing, and favoriting shows are just one tap away, and you can control your whole entertainment system with easy gestures. Swipe up, and your volume goes up. It's that simple," said Thiru Arunachalam, co-founder and CEO of Peel.

The Peel discovery app

The Peel app was launched in October to enthusiastic reviews, largely centered on the sleek, simple interface. Opening the free app takes a user through a simple setup process that identifies programming sources including cable, satellite, internet, and telephone systems and devices, as well as show, movie, and sports preferences. Once setup is complete, the Top Picks screen welcomes the user to a personalized program guide suggesting shows based on those preferences. Tap a show, and you'll see episode information including the time and channel on which the show appears, lead actors, and a show synopsis. From this screen, easy interaction points, including selecting the show as a favorite and sharing it via Facebook and Twitter, help the app to learn an individual's show preferences, tailoring further the recommendation engine that powers the Top Picks. Swiping side to side allows you to scroll through the show cards of your other recommendations for a great summary of available programs. No matter what you feel like watching, from comedy to drama to all your favorite sports, all the top choices sit at your fingertips.

Peel universal control

The beautifully designed Peel universal control system allows the Peel discovery app to seamlessly connect viewers to their shows and control their entertainment systems, right from an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. The Peel hardware consists of two pieces: the Peel cable and the Peel fruit. Designed by renowned product designer Yves Behar of fuseproject, the hardware was carefully approached to fit beautifully in any home entertainment configuration.

"Since there is only one piece of the system that is visible in the living room, we wanted it to be beautiful and independent of traditional remote control systems. We approached Yves because of his reputation of taking a different spin in product design, which is apparent in every product he's ever created. Yves was just as thrilled with our notion of putting the audience first, and the results were outstanding. The Peel universal control is just as unique as it is elegant," said Bala Krishnan, a co-founder who now serves as head of product for Peel.

The Peel fruit sits within line-of-sight of a user's entertainment system, and it's the only visible piece of the system. Cluttered piles of remote controls, hundreds of buttons controlling thousands of confusing interfaces, and searching for a lost remote are things of the past as a single, simple, gesture-based interface takes over volume, channels, menu systems and more. There's nothing to plug into the iPhone, and the second piece of the system is designed to plug directly in to a power outlet on one end and the ethernet port of a wireless router on the other.

The careful integration of the Peel discovery app with Peel universal control allows the system to recommend top viewing choices from a user's available sources, then begin a show with one tap. Over time, Peel learns an individual's viewing patterns including time of day, premium channels, sporting events and more, and the suggested shows become better tailored. After a show has been chosen, the interface was designed to be used without having to take one's eyes away from the TV.

"We felt that the interaction points for finding programming, accessing it, and then controlling your system are all different. When you're searching for a program, you want the guide up close, clear, and easy to navigate. However, once you're watching, your attention should be on the TV screen. For that reason, we designed the Peel universal control interface to work intuitively without having to look at the iPhone screen. It's a totally new model for touchscreen interfaces: you never have to point the phone at anything, there are no cables or attachments, and the system responds instantly. It's really cool, and our beta users have been thrilled," said Greg Lindley, Chief Experience Officer for Peel.

What will you pay for Peel?

As part of Peel's commitment to place simple control back in the hands of consumers, Peel is running a social campaign to help determine hardware pricing. Further, a limited quantity of the first units to be manufactured are available directly from Peel -- for whatever consumers are willing to pay. Consumers can simply make an offer on the Peel website, and the first units available will be shipped directly to the customers making the best offer. After that quantity is sold, Peel universal control will be available in major online and retail stores. Users of the Peel discovery app will also be able to purchase the control system through the app.

"For too long, audiences have been forced to change the way they watch and find programs around the demands of difficult guides, grids, and multiple remote controls with hundreds of confusing buttons. Peel was created to give control back to people who really just want to watch their favorite TV shows, and our first pricing model echoes our commitment to those users. We know our solution is valuable -- comparable remote systems start over $200, but we want our first users to judge its value first-hand. As they experience the 'aha moment' when their entertainment system wraps around their own preferences rather than the other way around, we expect a revolution in show discovery and control. It's still your shows on your TV, but it's much friendlier and much more fun to use," said Alec Marshall, VP of Marketing at Peel.

Specifications

Peel universal control works with iPhone OS 3 and above, and it controls thousands of models of TVs, DVD and Blu-ray players, cable and satellite boxes, internet-connected streaming devices like Roku, Tivo and Apple TV, and home theater receivers. The Peel discovery app is available to download free from the App Store, and it works without the hardware to provide tailored show suggestions and viewing information. Adding the hardware is a seamless update, and it can be done without losing a user's viewing preferences.

About Peel

Peel operated in near-stealth mode since 2009, breaking silence just long enough to be recognized as a CES Innovations Honoree for their revolutionary discovery system. After early angel financing, Peel entered Series A financing with Redpoint Ventures, known for their successful endeavors in consumer entertainment and interactive media. Peel delivers on their promise of making TV more friendly -- for discovery, control, and shared entertainment experiences.