i.TV extends to the iPad, adds Hulu integration

The free i.TV app for iPhone has been providing program guide and show information for TV addicts since October of 2008, and it's been improving steadily since then. With version 3, now available on the App Store, the app has gone universal and provides a full-screen iPad experience for browsing schedules, shows and TV-related news.

The main i.TV interface has been overhauled (clearing up some of the issues we noted previously), and now defaults to Shows mode; you can select from top programs, search and sift through a comprehensive list, or assign favorites for quick access. Tapping on a show gives you a rundown of the most recent episodes, details about upcoming airings, links to news and IMDb/Wikipedia entries on the show -- in other words, more info than you could possibly need. You can also set your TiVo DVR to record the show right from your iPhone or iPad. All the same features are available from the program grid if you want to see what's on now or at a future time.

There's more action in the 'Where to Watch' section; if you want to buy episodes from iTunes, watch them on TV or add DVDs to your Netflix queue, all are a tap away. Version 3 adds Hulu to the watching options, so if you're a Hulu Plus subscriber you can launch the Hulu iPad app directly from i.TV and start watching many shows in moments.

In the v3 rebuild, some features of previous versions have dropped out. The app's Facebook and Twitter integration is being redesigned; although you can use your Facebook credentials to authenticate, you can't share show info on the social networks at the moment. The ability in earlier versions to control a Roku remote is also gone in v3, and that apparently will not be coming back.

If you're looking for an attractive and capable iPhone or iPad program guide, give i.TV a spin; if you're a TiVo owner, you definitely want to have it on your device.