Check out the new Bluetooth TiVo remote!

TiVo introduced the next generation TiVo devices but also improved on their iconic peanut-shaped remote. The new remote not only maintains the classic TiVo look but features a slide out keyboard, just like a smartphone. The remote looks amazing and will be offered as an upgrade to the new TiVo DVRs.

TiVo won awards for their original peanut remote control and looks to be on track for more with this QWERTY slider remote. The new remotes uses Bluetooth to communicate with the set top box for extended range and line-of-sight issues that drive us all crazy. The slide out QWERTY will make searching far faster than clicking and moving around an on-screen keyboard. The remote will be an add-on accessory and will ship later this year at an undisclosed price.

The new DVRs from TiVo are built on Flash, which should make the menus snappy and fresh. The boxes aim to bring all entertainment to your TV, from cable to web to local network. Two models, capable of output up to 1080p, were introduced, the Premiere ($299) and Premiere XL ($499). The units still rely on the CableCARD slot. The Premiere can hold 45 hours of HD and the XL can hold 150 hours with THX.

“It has never been this easy to get all your entertainment in one place, on the big screen, in HD, right at your fingertips. And the beauty of TiVo Premiere is that finding what to watch is just as fun as the watching the TV shows themselves. We accomplished it by using pictures and graphics to make the whole television guide experience come alive in a way that it never has before,” said TiVo’s President and CEO Tom Rogers. “TiVo Premiere is your new cable box, it’s your movie box, it’s your web box, and music box; it’s the one box that can give you access to almost anything you want, whenever you want it. We’ve taken millions of pieces of content and organized it for you in a way that makes so much sense you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.”

Wondering how I ever lived without it is exactly how I feel about my first TiVo (I am on my second). It is impressive that TiVo has delivered a new device that looks capable of making users feel that way all over again.

Company site: [TiVo] via [Engadget]