Comcast has repeatedly said it intends to start deploying X2, a refresh of its cloud-based user interface that will touch set-tops, PCs, and mobile devices and pave the way for a cloud DVR service, sometime this fall.
Recent evidence suggests that Comcast is on track. According to Comcast customers on the DSL Reports message board, X1 subs were able to get a glance at the new UI by pressing a sequence of buttons on their remotes that connected their boxes to servers that contained an early build of the X2 software.
Those who did partake claimed that they were able to use an early build of X2 without some features, such as the new personalized recommendation engine and reported some bugs that were fixable with a reboot of the DVR.
Comcast declined to comment further on its X2 launch plans, but this code leak does seem to demonstrate the agility of the operator’s cloud-based platform and its ability to deploy the new version rapidly.
And that early access window is apparently closed. One user noted that Comcast has since disabled the shortcut. The message boards offers more examples, but here’s a shot at one of the X2 images posted by a customer who is based in Wilmington, Del.:
Comcast has rolled out X1 to about 85% of its service area, and expects to complete the rollout by the end of the year. Last week, Comcast vice chairman and chief financial officer Michael Angelakis said the MSO is “connecting about 10,000 X1s every single day right now, and that number will ramp up over time.”
Early on, Comcast is marketing X1 to new triple play customers.
