i.TV

Where iPhoneAppReviews.net is concerned I’m usually careful to keep my typically-foul mouth in check, but there’s really only one way to sum up i.TV:

HOLY SHIT

i.TV delivers local (U.S. and Canada) television and movie listings to your iPhone. On the surface it may not sound all that impressive, but it’s done with style, it’s totally customizable, it delivers a ton of information, and there’s a good chance it’ll become your new best friend… especially if your TV service provider’s onscreen menu sucks balls.

When you first launch i.TV it finds your location and asks you to choose your service provider, and that’s pretty much all that’s required of you. However, if you’re like me and get listings for 500 channels, only 150 of which are included in my plan, and only 15 of which I actually watch, you’ll definitely want to dive in and do some customization. This may take a couple of minutes, but it’s easy and is one of the main reasons that i.TV is so awesome.

Just about anything you find in i.TV’s listings can be added to “My Media” by clicking on the thumbs-up icon at the top of the screen… show titles, actors, genres, channels, whatever you want. My Media is basically a bookmarking system that tells you things like what shows your favorite actors are in or what channels your favorite shows can be found on. Under the Settings menu you can also choose to hide channels which is especially important because i.TV delivers *everything*. Several other types of filters are also provided to help you find what you want as fast as possible.

Movie listings are also part of the package and the quality of info is on par with the more popular movie-finding apps like Movies and Now Playing. i.TV doesn’t provide quite as many sorting options, but it does the job well enough that I’ve already dumped those other apps. Screw loyalty! I want what’s easy, and this is it.

There’s a search function and lots of other features I could go on and on about, but suffice it say that i.TV kicks ass. It’s also free, so naturally that means it’s ad-supported which is no big deal. Believe it or not, I kind of like the ads. Yeah, I said it. I like the ads. They’re usually for TV shows or movies, and a passive pitch for something I might want to see isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

If you live in North America and don’t already have it, get i.TV right this second. It’s a gift, and it just might change your tube-watching habits. If nothing else, it should speed things up a bit and give you more precious time to zone out on the couch.