Sky+ customers in Britain have been able to schedule their PVRs to record shows via a mobile phone for a while now. But it looks like US wireless carriers are starting to catch up.

AT&T launched a service Tuesday allowing Homezone customers to schedule recordings with their cellphones. Next week Verizon and Vodafone will launch a service allowing customers to program TiVo units by phone. Sprint plans to enter the remote recording market later this year.

This would all be such a brave new world if most mobile phones didn't have screens the size of a fingernail, making browsing TV listings a real chore. On the other hand, if you're working late and suddenly realize that there's a new episode of Survivor on that night that you don't want to miss, these new services could come in handy.

On the other hand, Reuters points out that a Jupiter Research study showed fewer than 10 percent of people actually want the ability to schedule PVR recordings on a cellphone. That may have something to do with the relatively small percentage of the population that actually has a PVR in the house.