Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) has partnered with Tile to enable Xfinity customers to use the X1 Voice Remote to locate Tile devices and see the results of the search on the TV set. The companies say the integration is the first video and voice control partnership of its kind for Tile.
According to a survey from Esure Home Insurance, the average person spends more than 60 hours a year looking for misplaced items. Tile is a Bluetooth tracker, helping users locate more than 3 million items every day, including cars, backpacks, suitcases, keys and wallets.
"This is a home automation partnership that helps solve real-life problems," said Sri Solur, senior vice president, Comcast Cable. "Now, when a child arrives home from school, a parent can simply say, 'Xfinity Home where's Sam's backpack?' into their voice remote and see that it was left at school. This is just one of the many peace of mind features we are making available to our customers on our evolving home automation platform."
Tile Bluetooth trackers can be attached to any item. If the item is misplaced, lost or stolen, X1 customers can say, "Xfinity Home, where are my keys?" or "Xfinity Home find my purse," to display the last known location and address of the missing Tile on their TV screen.
"Tile is creating a world where everyone can find everything that matters," said Mike Farley, CEO and co-founder, Tile. "With the smart home being central to so many consumers' lives, we are thrilled to be partnering with Comcast. Together, we are bringing greater peace of mind to Xfinity customers in their home, providing a streamlined experience for them to quickly locate their things no matter where they are."
At launch, Xfinity Home customers with the X1 voice remote can add their Tiles by downloading the Xfinity Home app and following the prompts in the mobile app. Later this year, Comcast and Tile plan to expand eligibility to all Xfinity Internet customers as well.
In other Comcast news, the company is increasing the speeds of some of its Xfinity Internet service packages in Houston later this month.
Performance Plus/Saver, Double, Triple or Quadruple Play packages are increasing from 60 Mbps to 150 Mbps downstream. Performance Pro/Starter, Triple Play packages are increasing from 150 Mbps to 250 Mbps. Blast! Pro/Preferred and Premier, Triple Play packages are increasing from 250 Mbps to 400 Mbps. Blast! Pro/Preferred and Premier, Quadruple Play packages are increasing from 250 Mbps to 1 Gbps.
Comcast announced similar upgrades in its Oregon and southwest Washington markets yesterday.
"These increases demonstrate our commitment to delivering unparalleled service to our customers, now featuring more speed than ever before," said Ralph Martinez, senior vice president of Comcast's Houston Region. "We're very focused on providing a great customer experience by making our technology products easy to get and simple to use. There's nothing simpler and easier than fulfilling our customers' need for speed to give them what they want, when they want it."