We’ve looked at quite a few remote controls in our day, but this is the first hand-powered one — no batteries required! The remote is a concept design by NEC and Soundpower, which obtains its power from the vibrations of your hand pressing the buttons. Sort of a self-sustainable electronic device if you will. Unfortunately … Read more
GlideTV Navigator is the latest entrant into the HTPC, over-the-top video remote control space. And, after several days with a review unit, two things have surprised me… in a very positive way. First off, I experienced none of the touchpad lag or jerkiness I’ve previously encountered using similar solutions such as the Zeevee box remote. … Read more
DVPRemote, which I originally came across back in August, has just received a substantial refresh. In addition to fundamental WiFi remote control of Roku’s media streamer ($99), the app author has worked closely with Roku to incorporate their graphics, enable auto-discovery (versus direct IP address entry), and add support for multiple units. I’ve had a … Read more
The Twitter Everywhere meme is popular this week, and Sonos joins in by announcing (via Twitter) that soon owners of the multi-room music streaming experience will be able to tweet from their Sonos controllers. The new feature empowers listeners to share artist tracks with one click, or edit automated tweets before publishing. I love this … Read more
I didn’t realize that my little Roku ($99) video streaming box has an open network interface. Like TiVo, one simply needs to telnet into port 8080 of the Roku from a LAN to issue commands. The first practical implementation, which I discovered over on Hacking Netflix, is the 99 cent iPhone/Touch DVPRemote app which allows … Read more
Normally, I wouldn’t bother drawing attention a new cable/telco remote control. However, what makes AT&T’s offering unique is that this $50 RF U-Verse remote is an optional accessory/upgrade, available via their website. I’ve received confirmation that the remote control is a Motorola creation, while the USB RF dongle was sourced elsewhere. At fifty bucks, AT&T … Read more
A periodic roundup of relevant news… from our other blogs: Sony E3 2009 Press Conference Summary The press conference and list of PS3 exclusives shown were better than expected. I’d put it on par with the Microsoft press conference. I was impressed with Sony’s marrying of a motion controller with high-end graphics. Though, as with … Read more
I stopped by the Kodak booth to check out their Wi-Fi photo frames (also getting FrameChannel content), but spent most of my time playing with the Kodak Theatre HD Player. It was launched last fall, but only online and in select Best Buy stores. It’s basically just another media extender – YouTube, Internet radio stations, … Read more