CBS Interactive released its TV.com application for iPhone and iPod touch on Thursday. The app focuses on snack videos, most less than a few minutes, and offers a smattering of selected full episodes from the CSI series, NCIS, Berverly Hills 90210, Star Trek: The Original Series, and MacGyver.

We live in an era of high technological advancements in video, instant communication and hyperbole. That tends to lead to false expectations that are readily manipulated. The TV.com app, which is free, is one of those. It's a potpouri of snack videos, apparently intended to introduce customers to the offerings of CBS Entertainment, The CW, Showtime, CNET TV and CBS sports and news and few other "channels."

TV.com: CBS's NCIS (iPhone screen shot)

The app is fairly well laid out, and despite its complexity and focus on streaming video, never crashed during testing. There's a home page and tabs for Shows, Channels, a personal feed, and some user options. One can can assign a channel to a favorites in "My Feed."

There are about 75 shows in the total list, ranging from 90210 through NCIS and Numb3rs and Two and a Half Men and Without a Trace. However, if you're looking for full episodes, the selection is sparse, limited to just one or a few from the list given above. For the few full episodes, they're broken up into multiple clips to keep the size of each video small.

TV.com Home Page (via iTunes)

The app reveals the power and potential of the iPhone/touch, Wi-Fi (or 3G), but remains essentially a video business card into the offerings of the CBS family, including CNET videos. The richness of the tools for search and customization obscures the fact that the content is limited and tightly managed.

The user will need to get accustomed to the weird, technically distorted way of labeling the length of the videos. A 31 second video is labelled 0.31min and a 3m54s video is labelled 3.54min.

Paramount Classics: Star Trek, the Original Series (iPhone screen shot)

Perhaps, in time, the app will expand to become something really useful. After all, CBS shouldn't be concerned about its viewers watching last week's full episodes in a 3.5-inch screen. However, the purpose of the app is really to consume the user with titillation over possible shows missed or never seen, not provide a service.

As it stands now, even as a free app, it's just a time waster for snack videos while you're standing in line at the bank.