IntoNow review: IntoNow

IntoNow from Yahoo is a "second screen" app -- an app you use on your phone or tablet while watching TV to get more info about the shows your watching. In early versions of the app the big feature was that IntoNow could "listen" to the audio from your TV and accurately figure out what you're watching, kind of like the Shazam app does for audio.

8.5

IntoNow

The Good

<b>IntoNow</b>'s quick synchronization, tons of social features, and content that's specific to what you're watching make TV viewing more enjoyable.

The Bad

Notifications can get a little out of control. The iPad version doesn't fill out the screen, but instead has a bunch of blank space on the right side.

The Bottom Line

If you have several favorite shows or even just a few, IntoNow is a fun way to get more interactive with your television watching with tons of content and social features to keep you interested.

In this latest update, Yahoo has added a couple more features to the app that give you more reasons to watch TV with your iPhone or iPad in your hand.

Like the earlier versions of the app, you can touch a button to synchronize almost instantly with a TV show or live event (with amazing accuracy), simply by letting the app listen to the audio. Doing this "checks you in" to the show, letting your friends know what you're watching and surfaces available tweets, community discussion, and other information specific to the show. I tried using the app next to a TV showing the Summer Olympics and immediately IntoNow knew what I was watching, let me "like" the broadcast, and displayed several items specific to the Summer Olympics. The app scoured Yahoo sites to give me medal counts, event schedules, related tweets, and stories about Olympians -- all in a matter of seconds. I also had the option to add and chat with friends (via Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, or my address book) so it would allow me to have conversations with other users watching the show and a neat way to connect with friends from our respective living room couches.

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Other new features let you sync up with the current music being played in a show, giving you the ability to quickly purchase and download the song from iTunes. Simply let the app listen while a song is playing (even if it's just a snippet) and the app shows you options for getting that song immediately.

IntoNow makes your "second screen" worth watching

+3 More

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Probably the most striking (and silly) new addition is a feature called Capit. When you touch the Capit button, the app shows you still images of the show from approximately the point in time in the show where you touched the button. Apparently Yahoo is pulling from a database of images being snapped on its servers as the show plays. You can scroll forwards or backwards to find the perfect image, then add joke-like captions to the top and bottom of the image. While not particularly useful, it's a neat feature that lets you make jokes out of what's on screen for your friends with your own funny commentary.

IntoNow offers several other tweaks to the new version. The app has been redesigned to take advantage of the Retina Display on supported devices; you can answer trivia questions or take polls about the show you're watching; and you can create buddy rooms so you can all get together when your favorite shows are starting.

Even though I'm not much of a TV watcher, it's easy to see how this app could be a fun addition to any broadcast. If you have favorite shows you like to watch and would like to make them more interactive, IntoNow is an excellent choice, with tons of content and ways to connect and chat with friends.