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remote control posts

Bang & Olufsen's multifunctional BeoTime gets carefully handled

by Vladislav Savov posted Nov 4th 2009 at 5:50AM

It's rare that we get to see magic wand-shaped remote controls, and rarer still for them to have integrated alarm clocks. The Bang & Olufsen BeoTime is just that sort of exotic specimen, and its $375 touch-sensitive aluminum body has now been tested for our amusement. Being able to turn on your other B&O products by simply grabbing the remote or setting an alarm for the desired time struck positive notes, and those bite-sized displays earned praise too. With automatic backlighting, built-in accelerometer, and full channel readouts, they ensured the minimum of strain for the user (which is probably still pretty high considering they're tiny!). There wasn't much to complain about, but at that price point you wouldn't expect it either. Full hands-on gallery can be found at the read link.

GlideTV Navigator gets a thorough hands-on and critiquing

by Darren Murph posted Oct 26th 2009 at 12:44PM

If you're not down with snapping up an HTPC-centric keyboard with an integrated trackpad or trackball, controlling the likes of Hulu, Boxee and ZeeVee's Zinc TV viewer can be a real chore. Dave Zatz was able to wrap his paws around the problem-solving GlideTV Navigator, and while he deemed the actual remote trackpad "the best he'd ever used," he couldn't unequivocally say that this beauty was worth a buck-fifty. He also found that the remote could be used one-handed with a bit of practice, and he expressed understandable concern about this thing's ability to stay functional as the software around it evolves. If you've been waffling on pulling the trigger here, you owe it to yourself to give the read link a look.

Review: WowWee Roborover gets friendly with your furniture

by Richard Lai posted Oct 21st 2009 at 4:36PM

See that glowing face? Yep, it's the super-enthusiastic Roborover from WowWee. We won't lie: we were a bit stoked by the arrival of this yellow explorer at Engadget's doorstep. Too bad it didn't exactly walk all the way from its warehouse, forcing us to go through the painful procedure of cutting up the tapes and untangling the ties of its shipping box. Five minutes later we've got a 4-pound robot on our hands, and we'd say overall the build quality is an eight out of ten (the cuts on the plastic parts could do with a finer finish) which is pretty good for a toy. You'll be pleased to know that those treads are for real and supported by a third mini roller at the back, but the friendly manual does say, "For indoor use only." Think we'll skip that page, thank you. Now kids, you might need your daddy's screwdrivers and some extra cash to feed the Roborover three "C" size batteries, and another three "AAAs" for the chunky IR remote. All ready to go? Skip along to learn how the Roborover explores the "ancient tombs of your parents' closet."

Gallery: Review: WowWee Roborover gets friendly with your furniture

Continue reading Review: WowWee Roborover gets friendly with your furniture

GlideTV Navigator puts Media Center controls in the palm of your hand

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Oct 13th 2009 at 11:58AM

Otherwise content users of Boxee or Hulu on the big screen in the living room, the tyranny of the keyboard and mouse may finally be over! GlideTV Navigator is a palm-sized remote control that features a trackpad and backlit AV buttons, just the thing to further enable your YouTube addiction beyond the confines of your computer nook. Works with Windows XP or Vista (we're assuming there's a Windows 7 version on tap as well), Mac OS X, and the Sony PS3, and the package includes a charging cradle and USB receiver. Sadly, the on-screen keyboard and integrated search apps are Windows only for the time being. Look to spend about $149 -- but not before peeping the gallery below.

Gallery: GlideTV Navigator puts Media Center controls in the palm of your hand

Flip Video remote control shows up at FCC -- bigger things to come?

by Vladislav Savov posted Oct 2nd 2009 at 5:52AM

A brand spanking new filing with the FCC shows a Flip Video-branded RF remote control, produced by Foxconn, which frankly raises more questions than it answers. Looking at its robust size, which is comparable to that of the Flip Ultra Video HD, we can be pretty sure this isn't meant to remotely control anything that's out at the moment. Head honcho Jonathan Kaplan has already expressed a definite interest in expanding the brand, and Cisco's acquisition of Pure Digital was said to be "key" to its strategy of expanding its presence in the "media-enabled home." So, given the parent company's somewhat unsuccessful history of building media hubs, and the simplified control scheme that just screams for an on-screen menu, this may well be the prelude to a new Flip-branded whole-home DVR setup, an idea that Cisco discussed over the summer. Or it could be something entirely different -- we just know it's something.

Gallery: Flip Video remote control

Kaleidescape joins the iPhone as a remote party

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Sep 10th 2009 at 10:53AM

It is only a matter of time before every single company in the world makes some kind of iPhone/iPod Touch app and if you make home theater gear that mean it is a remote. Remotescape for the Kaleidescape is the latest addition and from the looks of the Youtube video embedded after the break, it is a pretty slick mix of gestures and cover art goodness. The bad news of course is that the graphics in the interface are on par with the rest of Kaleidescape's products and the price tag is $69 -- but if you dropped the $50k on the Kaleidescape media server, then you probably think that is cheap for a iPhone app.

Continue reading Kaleidescape joins the iPhone as a remote party

Video: Philips' 3rd gen Aurea 'egg' remote gets put through the paces

by Ross Miller posted Sep 4th 2009 at 11:51AM

What better to complement your new trippy, edge-glowing Philips 3rd gen Aurea HDTV than an egg-shaped remote? Our friends at Engaget Spanish hunted down the controller and walked away impressed at its build construction and design -- but not before capturing numerous pictures and footage, of course. There was some concern with the rigidity of the buttons, but nothing worth squabbling over on this bundled device. Hit up the read link for the full, machine-translated impressions, or affix your gaze on the pics and video below.

Gallery: El curioso mando a distancia del Philips Aurea en nuestras manos [IFA 2009]

Continue reading Video: Philips' 3rd gen Aurea 'egg' remote gets put through the paces

Blu-Link universal remote for PS3 is your ticket to weight gain

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Sep 1st 2009 at 3:19PM

Sick of all the physical effort involved in shuffling multiple remotes? Back in the day (that is, until yesterday) if you wanted to use a universal remote control with your PS3 you had to get some sort of IR-to-Bluetooth adapter, like the one available for the Logitech Harmony. SMK, however, is looking to change that (and reinforce your inertia in the process) with Blu-Link. This bad boy combines a Bluetooth PS3 controller with a standard infrared universal remote. Other features include advanced learning (for gleaning button assignments from your other remotes) and support for more than 400 brands of standard and HDTV televisions and flatscreens, 150 VCR brands, 200 Satellite Receiver models, 100 Cable TV Receiver brands, 50 DVR models and 200 home theater surround sound systems. Available September 1st for $49.95. HIt the read link for more info.

Sony unveils waterproof universal remotes for deep-sea TV addicts

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Aug 31st 2009 at 6:34PM

If you're very clumsy (or you love watching TV in the bathtub) Sony Japan has just the thing for you. The Rimotokomanda RM-PZ3SD universal remote comes in a palette of soothing colors, works with a wide variety of sets (including those by Panasonic / National, Toshiba, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Victor / JVC, Sanyo, Aiwa, Sharp, Funai / PRECIOUS, NEC, Fujitsu, Pioneer, Philips, and, of course, Sony), and offers at least a modicum of water-resistance for wet-handed TV viewing (we'll leave that part up to your imagination). To be unleashed on the Japanese buying public "soon" for ¥2,468 (around $26). More pics after the break.

[Via Boing Boing]

Continue reading Sony unveils waterproof universal remotes for deep-sea TV addicts

CRISTAL combines 'The Sims' and Surface for full room control

by Joshua Topolsky posted Aug 15th 2009 at 11:09AM

Have you ever yearned for more immediate control over your surroundings? No, we don't mean Magneto car-flipping abilities. We mean more like wrangling all of the gear in a room into some kind of understandable and connected system. If you said yes -- and you're a Sims aficionado -- you'll want to check into CRISTAL. We're not talking expensive champagne here, we're talking about the "Control of Remotely Interfaced Systems using Touch-based Actions in Living spaces" system (c'mon, it sort of makes sense). The premise is simple: instead of having to juggle multiple remotes and input systems to deal with a room full of technology, CRISTAL merges a Surface-like touch area (your coffee table in this scenario), an overhead camera, and connected devices to form a frighteningly intuitive control scheme. The idea allows for all sorts of handy arrangements, like being able to virtually drag media from a server on one side of the room to your TV on the other, dim lights in a particular area by swiping on that location, or draw a path for a Roomba to clean using the overhead view. Right now this is just a research project, of course, but the team working on the concept believes costs could move down from the astronomic $10,000-$15,000 the setup would cost now to a more affordable range. Until that happens, you'll have the video of CRISTAL in action after the break.

Continue reading CRISTAL combines 'The Sims' and Surface for full room control

Bang & Olufsen's BeoTime alarm clock / remote favors a flute

by Darren Murph posted Jul 15th 2009 at 12:20PM

Bang & Olufsen -- the Danish boutique retailer famous for engineering gorgeous AV products that only a sliver of humanity can afford -- has just introduced its newest product, and it's a far cry from the gargantuan HDTVs and superfluous sound systems that it's used to shipping. Designed by Steffen Schmelling and inspired by Mozart's The Magic Flute, this elongated wireless alarm clock actually serves another purpose. Once it has awoken you from your slumber just in time to catch The Price Is Right in high-def, you can take it with you in order to control some of your other B&O components. The cubes you see are actually displays, and the built-in motion sensor enables display backlights to activate with a simple touch. We're told that the device should hit showrooms this August for $375, though you should probably budget for an anger management course to keep from smashing this thing to bits the first time it buzzes at 5:30AM.

[Via PRNewswire]

Gallery: Bang & Olufsen's BeoTime alarm clock / remote favors a flute

Sonos CR200 remote control's product page reveals capacitive screen, $349 price tag

by Ross Miller posted Jul 7th 2009 at 7:44PM

Looks like Sonos has put up a staging page for its CR200 remote control along with all the specs you could ask for, and a handful of low resolution pics to boot. That 3.5-inch VGA LCD display indeed is a touchscreen, and better yet, it's capacitive. It's also a good bit smaller and lighter than its CR100 ancestor, only 2.9 x 4.5 x 0.7 inches in size and six ounces in weight -- you can probably give thanks to the aluminum case for at least some of that weight loss. Price is just a hair below $350 and that drops to $290 when you get it as part of the Bundle 250. The "add to cart" function doesn't quite seem to be working, but it can't be long now, right? Just in case the page gets pulled, we've taken the liberty of screencapping all the good parts and throwing them in the gallery below.

Gallery: Sonos CR200 remote control's product page reveals capacitive screen, $349 price tag

[Thanks, Schmoop and Lowwie]

NC State gurus build remote control bats, freak out Dukies and Tar Holes

by Darren Murph posted Jul 7th 2009 at 9:27AM

Micro-aerial vehicles, or MAVs as they're called in the elusive underground, are far from new, but a team from NC State University is hoping to advance the field with an all new critter. The Robo-Bat is a remote controlled creature that relies on a super elastic shape-memory metal alloy for the joints, which is said to provide a full range of motion while enabling it to "always return to its original position -- a function performed by many tiny bones, cartilage and tendons in real bats." The crew is also utilizing other "smart materials" in the muscular system, giving it the ability to react in real time to environmental changes such as sudden wind gusts. Ideally, this bionic chiropteran would be used to chivvy those who dare step foot on Franklin Street or inside Cameron Indoor Stadium, but in less malicious situations, it could help well-meaning scientists get the bottom of that whole "aerodynamics" thing.

Sonos CR200 remote control has a touchscreen, at last

by Thomas Ricker posted Jul 2nd 2009 at 4:50AM

And here it is. After we unearthed the Sonos CR200 in a FCC filing, out comes the first pic. As we expected, it's a portrait controller and is said to include a touch-screen which makes an on-screen QWERTY keyboard a lock for searching by artist, album, or song titles. Goodbye scroll-wheel! If you own a Sonos, then you know this is the best thing to happen since, well, buying your Sonos... just so long as it's not priced for $399 like the CR100 it replaces.

Sony's newest remote control ships with a Z200iR compact music system (updated)

by Thomas Ricker posted Jul 1st 2009 at 4:38AM

It's not often that a remote control becomes the centerpiece of a product launch, but man, would you look at that. That's the remote for Sony's NAS-Z200iR, a WiFi-enabled shelf audio system with slot-loading CD and iPod dock. The Z200iR is DLNA-certified so it works with any DLNA device in your home including NAS boxes and of course, your PC or Mac. The re-chargeable remote features a 3.5-inch LCD display that gives you full control over sourced media including Internet radio, integrated AM/FM tuner, or devices connected via the Z200iR's USB or audio-in ports. The sound comes courtesy of a pair of independent, 20-watt speaker enclosures with double neodymium magnets used to drive the bass. A simpler, WiFi-less CMT-Z100iR system will launch first in July with the Z200iR headed to Europe in mid September. Sorry, no prices announced so no joy.

Update: Ready for the pricing? The German press release has the Z200iR at €699. That's nearly $1,000 for a compact sound system that sits on a shelf. Way to go Sony, way to go.