MxAir
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Universal Electronics licenses motion control, hopes you don't put your eye out
Ask us what we think about voice control of A/V gear, and you're likely to get a laugh. Gesture-based control, however, is a different kettle of fish. Despite the knocks we give it, simply waving your hands through the air does make you feel more powerful than pressing a designated button. Universal Electronics (UEI) is on the same page, and has licensed motion-control technology from Hillcrest Labs to deliver more of that omnipotent feeling in its remote controls. Hillcrest's Freespace tech has already found its way into the Logitech MX Air, but we'll have to wait and see what kind of usage UEI will incorporate into its products. Creating a successful "10-foot" experience isn't going to be solved by hardware manufacturers alone, though -- optimizing the graphical side of the design is necessary as well.
Unboxing the Logitech MX Air
If there's such a thing as a Logitech fanboy, you can count us among their legions, as we've been more than pleased with almost all of the products (mice, webcams, surround sound speakers, wireless gamepads) that we've ever purchased from the peripherals giant. And we must say, the new MX Air certainly lives up to this enviable reputation. From good hand feel to instinctive reactions in 3D space to the sweet virtual scrollwheel (it even makes a freakin' accelerating and decelerating clicking sound, just like the MX Revolution!), the latest member of the MX family is a pleasure to work with all around, and also features the no-brainer plug-and-play setup that we've come to expect from these devices. We'll have a more detailed hands-on a little later, but for right now you can check out our unboxing pics in the gallery below... %Gallery-4810%
Logitech planning MX Air gyration mouse?
A friendly tipster pointed us to this shot of the unreleased Logitech MX Air mouse. Not a lot of info on it, but apparently it does the cursor thing with a combination of an in-air gyration mouse and traditional desktop laser mouse tech. No Bluetooth for this one, Logitech is sticking with its RF dongle method, and purportedly plans to release it this summer. Our Wiimote isn't so sure it's ready to fork over the friendly skies so soon.[Thanks, Anonymous]
