I recently attended a local blogger meetup hosted by Comcast Xfinity, you know.....the 'cable company'. An event of this nature, is not typically something I'd go for so, let me just be honest here, I went to the meetup for very selfish reasons. I wanted to meet some other bloggers in the area and I needed adult female bonding time. I can't lie. I rarely get out of the house without having my brood in tow...and I love them, I truly do....but sometimes, mama needs a break. Yes, before you ask, I have friends....but to meet other bloggers in person is something I don't always get a chance to do. So, I took this as a welcomed opportunity to meet 'my people' face to face.
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| Photo Credit: Comcast |
I have another confession......I HATE CABLE TV.....I mean it. I've paid LOTS of money every month to be disappointed by over 300 channels....that I don't even watch. Last month, I got over spending all that money and I cancelled my DISH cable service and have been streaming movies and shows through my ROKU player and aside from the buffering issues, I have no complaints. So, I knew deep down, I had no business going to that event, but I did it anyway. I went without shame, but I must say, I was changed!
First of all.....I loved meeting all the nice ladies and eyeballing the deliciousness on the food table.....because all the eats were right up my low-carb loving lane.....sans the cupcakes....and macaroons (yes, I had one).....but I was expecting to hear a sales pitch and then get whisked off to some corner to try and get signed up with Xfinity....and then prepare myself for buyers remorse, because I promise you....if that would have happened, I'da been completely sold!
All my expectations about Xfinity were out the door. Not only were the good folks from Xfinity NOT trying to make us buy anything, they were friggin' awesomely cool people! They demonstrated all the different ways that Xfinity isn't just cable programming....I mean, they have cable programming, but they have so much more. I was really impressed by what's available.
So, the first little ditty that caught my eye was that you can pretty much use Xfinity Home services to turn your house into a full automated secured smart home! You can literally go anywhere and just with the use of your smartphone, tablet or computer, access live video and find out when someone is at your front door, you can 'peep in' on your kids when they get home from school, in some areas you can turn on your AC or set your heat remotely, set a timer on your lights, and I love this.....set your alarm! Like seriously.....if you think you left your coffee pot on, you can access your system from work and turn the darn thing off! We got to test out these features in a hands-on experience by using....get this y'all....a remote control that you talk to....I can't......I can't!!!! Maybe I'm behind in the times when it comes to technology....but this pretty much blew my mind.
There are also really good options for safe programming for families which may or may not have changed my mind about cable tv. With Xfinity you can set up a feature called Kids Zone, which allows parents to control what channels your kids can watch based on their age. Your kids can safely watch their fave shows. Also, you can use the Xfinity TV app and a cloud based DVR feature to take movies and shows on the go. Say for instance, you know you're going to be on a six-hour car ride with an (ahem) eight and 11 year-old....you can grab your devices and load them up with their favorite movies and shows! And because Xfinity lets their customers have access to millions of hotspots across the country, you can pretty much access the app from anywhere without worrying about running up that cell phone bill! These features may have changed my cable-hate...for realz.
There were a few other features that really wowed me but one in particular stood out the most. My husband's family lives locally and we get to see them all the time. But, my mom and grandmother, who are both my fave ladies in the world, live far away. So, when the kids have special performances or school functions, I don't always get to share those live moments with my mom and grandmother. Well, Xfinity allows you to send live real-time video from your smartphone or tablet to another TV! Of course everyone would need to have Xfinity services to do that, but how cool is that??? Watching the grandbabies on the TV??? Sooo sweet!!!
With all these features and apps that Xfinity has available, I must say, they make it very hard for me to not want to sign up. They're really offering a way for families to stay better connected by using the newest technology and placing everything right at your fingertips. The prices started at under $30/mo....and for what services I checked out, would definitely work for my budget.
As the event wrapped, we were gifted with a gift bag filled with lots of tech gear and an awesome Samsung Galaxy tablet - which I gave to my husband for always supporting me and having my back.
I'm so glad I actually went to this event - even if it was for selfish reasons. I met some fab blogger ladies and truly enjoyed myself and Xfinity may have just earned themselves a new Xfinity customer.
I snagged this slideshow of our event from the Comcast Twitter feed - you can see me in the yellow sweater and tan dress ;)
Disclosure: I was invited by Xfinity as part of their #XfinityMoms AppyHour and received a gift bag and tablet for attending. As always, thoughts and opinions are all my own.
