When Wonderful Remote first starts, you’re asked to enter your registration information (or leave it blank for the 48-hour trial), and then you’ll enter your TiVo’s IP address on your network.

You’re then presented with the main screen, which provides a reference on the available functions.

I went through and tried all of the options.  When using the trackball to navigate, it’s extremely responsive – the TiVo actually responds to my BlackBerry more quickly than it does to my Logitech Harmony remote.

All of the keys work as advertised, and you have access to all of the functions you’d have on your standard TiVo Remote.

One limitation of the TiVo’s network remote interface is that it doesn’t accept letter keys for search boxes.  Instead, Wonderful Remote will send up, down, left, and right commands to navigate to each letter, and then press “select” on it – and it does this incredibly fast.

My opinion? It’s a well-written application.  Its only limitation is that my BlackBerry Bold is not a touchscreen device.

While it won’t be replacing my Logitech Harmony remote any time soon, it makes entering text in the various search boxes so fast, it makes it well worth the $2.99.

Check it out.

[2009/10/06] The FCC now requires that anyone who blogs about a product must disclose if they received payment.  I received a free copy of this app after having posted this review.

You’ve heard of TiVo – Everyone’s heard of TiVo.  The problem is, most average people haven’t actually seen a TiVo in action and don’t really understand what makes a TiVo better than their cable or satellite DVR.  I think TiVo’s got a PR issue – people use the word DVR and TiVo interchangeably – and while a TiVo is a DVR, that doesn’t make a DVR a TiVo – there are a whole host of features that put the TiVo miles ahead of the other DVRs on the market.

I don’t work for TiVo, and they haven’t paid me for this or anything (although that would be nice in this economy ).  I’m just a long-time TiVo user who’s maybe a little too obsessed with the box… but if you actually own a TiVo, you’d understand.

And here’s another disclaimer: I am not a professional reviewer, there are DVRs out there that I’ve never seen, and there are probably newer software versions for some of the DVRs I have seen.  These are just my personal thoughts on TiVo, and while there are good competitors out there that may excel in some areas, there are few that can match TiVo in terms of the sheer breadth of featuers it offers.

I’m going to avoid discussing the features that are common to all DVRs have and focus on what makes TiVo the best DVR available.

Read the rest of Why TiVo Is Better (2,224 words)