Welcome to the U-verse

After months of waiting many Houstonians now live in a new U-verse. Not a typo. U-verse is the new communication and entertainment service from AT&T.

According to the company the service offers customers "a combination of next-generation digital television -- including more than 25 High Definition (HD) channels -- and high speed Internet access." It also has a wireless home networking component which gives users the ability to access online photos, streaming video, games and other information using a wireless-enabled laptop or other device.

You got to love the Texas-based company. The Houston launch is the second market in which the U-verse service is available. The service was first launched in San Antonio in June.

I got to see a demo of the service about a month ago and it is pretty darn impressive. No latency when you change channels and the VOD is very intuitive. Pick a fave show or actor and the on-screen menu finds every match. And if that's not convergence, AT&T plans to bring the U-Verse IPTV content to mobile phone subscribers soon (Cingular, of course).

You can find out more here and see if you if your neighborhood is lit up.