Ricavision unveils its latest Sideshow/MCE remote, the RICA100

Ricavision continues to rock the SideShow action today -- in addition to the devices unveiled yesterday, it looks like they're finally ready to ship that nifty SideShow-enabled Vista Media Center Edition we saw back at CES as the RICA100. There's been a few changes since -- Bluetooth range has been increased to 300 meters, the button layout has been substantially beefed-up and revised to meet Microsoft's MCE guidelines, and the docking / charging cradle has been totally redesigned into a smaller, sleeker unit. All those changes don't come cheap, though -- the RICA100's MSRP is now $299, up from $199. We can't help but notice that this design is just a render too, though -- let's hope Ricavision shows off an actual physical product sometime soon.

[Via eHomeUpgrade]

[Chris @ May 19th 2007 5:04AM]

They've had an actual picture of the one they showed off at CES on their website for sometime now.
http://www.ricavision.com/

[kev @ May 19th 2007 8:51AM]

I can't imagine the battery on that remote lasting all that long. If you lose that charger, you're screwed =P

[darkstar @ May 19th 2007 9:04AM]

whats a good remote for windows now? i dont want to buy an HP desktop just for a decent mce remote. this rica is nice! but too expensive :(

[Alex Z @ May 19th 2007 9:11AM]

Hi,
just a question: are there on the market remote controls that integrate a mouse function ? (I mean with a mini-trackball or a mini-joystick like in the Genius LuxMate 800 keyboard
http://www.profil-marketing.de/imgbase/files/1441/Genius_LuxeMate810.jpg)

This would be a real step forward!!!
It would allow you to click wherever on your desktop and to surf the internet from your couch!

[Patrick @ May 19th 2007 9:17AM]

ooh, I like the looks of this one much better than their first SideShow remote (which does exist, Gizmodo has had one in-house for a couple months).

DO WANT.

[William McGough @ May 19th 2007 9:54AM]

They ruined it. The old version looked so much nicer. (and was cheaper).
http://gizmodo.com/photogallery/RicavisionVistaRemote/
Hopefuly this is just a different model and they will offer the first one as well.

[Richard Lai @ May 19th 2007 10:03AM]

Hmm... the navigation buttons do look a bit too small, but overall it is a sexy remote.

Sorry William, I prefer this new design, even though the old one may be more practical.

[David @ May 19th 2007 1:26PM]

Whats wrong with a nice Logitech Harmony remote?

[Leoedin @ May 19th 2007 1:38PM]

I don't get it. Almost everyone who would be buying something like this has a bluetooth enabled device with a colour screen, a pretty good processor, 21+ buttons and an excellent battery life.

Why is there so little market for bluetooth remote applications for cell phones? I've heard of media systems that do this (great!) but excluding 1 linux application and 2-3 windows applications, all low key, there is nothing on the market to do this. Surely every media centre PC should come with some sort of "Sideshow" J2ME application that can be sent via bluetooth and allow you to control your PC.

[Brien @ May 19th 2007 1:59PM]

Bluetooth eh? Something to cover both the PS3 and 360. Excellent.

[Tyler @ May 19th 2007 3:35PM]

Does anyone know where to get the MS Vista edition remote for MCE? I want to pick it up, but I can only find the old XP MCE version.

[saq @ May 19th 2007 4:21PM]

Wow, this may be the only remote I think is nicer than my Harmony 550. I like.

[John Laur @ May 20th 2007 10:47AM]

How is this company making any money? They design a remote that lots of customers want, fail to deliver it by the time people need it (ie when vista shipped), then by the time they finally actually build it and its looking like we might actually get to buy one soon -- they announce its (much better) successor which is (apparently) still at a concept stage.

[Ray-- @ May 21st 2007 10:58AM]

can this remote learn? For $300 it better be able to replace all the remotes I have....

[ToeCutter @ May 22nd 2007 10:22AM]

I call vaporware. Ricavision has been hawking renders of these remotes forever. Inquiries on availability go unanswered.

These fancy pants remotes are becoming increasingly irrelevent as more and more bluetooth smartphones hit the market. Salling Clicker is FINALLY running on the Moto Q and serves as an excellent bluetooth HTPC remote, for both PC and Mac. And it costs a measly $30 for the same control as these SideShow remotes offer.