Aug
25
TiVo versions of its new remote with a slide, slide-out QWERTY keyboard for faster and easier text entry. The new remote features light sensor that automatically activates the illuminated glow function buttons and keyboard, making it easier to use in dark environments.
The TiVo remote has a built a slide-in Bluetooth connectivity. It is compatible wth all TiVo Series3, TiVo HD / HD XL and Premiere / Premiere XL boxes. The price is $ 89.99.
Aug
24
Last-generation touch-screen technology? Check. A sluggish processor? Check. No easy way to install apps? Check. The new wave of cheap Android tablets that has reached Kmart and online retailers in recent weeks leaves a lot to be desired, but that doesn’t deter Neuros Technology CEO Joe Born, whose company started to sell $150 tablets to some of its early adopter customers in August.
“We target it as a controller, and it’s great for that,” said Born when I caught up with him by phone late last week to get some first impressions.
Born’s take on these cheap iPad copycats goes something like this: You don’t need expensive tablet hardware to remotely control the video on your big screen TV. All you need is something that runs apps, and there are a number of Android apps out there that can be used to control Boxee or VLC, two of the media players that run on the Neuros Link Home Theater PC box.
Neuros sold around 50 tablets so far, and Born just reduced the price to $99 for the remainder of the test run. The devices are based on a 600MHz VIA processor and ran Android 1.6. Something like this doesn’t even come close to the iPad experience, but Born doesn’t care. “That hardware works fine for what we are doing,” he told me.
And he fully expects the low-end tablets to become more powerful while staying true to their discounter-friendly price point. “Unauthorized Chinese manufacturers are just driving these prices”, and that’s good news for anyone who wants to address an audience outside of the high-tech beltway. “Prize is just so crucial to a mainstream audience”, he said.
However, Born doesn’t think that the hardware will be limited to remotes for long. Most cheap tablets already support a wide variety of video codecs out of the box, and it doesn’t take much fantasy to see them replace the second or third TV in a household. “I tend to look at the furniture in the house” Born said. “There needs to be a big screen to support the couch.” Head down into the basement to run a few rounds on your treadmill, and you might be tempted to just watch on your tablet.
And finally, even cheap Android hardware might be enough to run some widgets that would otherwise interfere with your TV viewing if displayed on the big screen. Designers and researchers alike have been making the case against widgets on your TV in recent months, and Born seems to agree. “It does make more sense for this to be on the small screen,” he told me, adding that he doesn’t buy into the notion of turning your TV into the be-all end-all device. “The whole idea of convergence is just a myth,” he said.
Aug
23
Wireless is very important nowadays and has been applied to our daily life as well as many gadgets including keyboard. The ‘Old’ wired keyboard is surely left behind, though, it is still commonly used in many offices, schools and houses. EFO Gadget Shop has announced EFO ‘Smallest’ RF Mini Wireless Keyboard which may be the smallest and lightest gadget.
How smallest? It is smaller than a wallet and the weight is only 43g, so it is easy to be carried. EFO ‘Smallest’ RF Mini Wireless Keyboard is a 4 in 1 gadget consisting of keyboard, mouse, touchpad and laser pointer. With the portable size, it makes user freely manage personal computer. Additionally, besides compatible for Windows OS, it is also compatible for Mac and Linux.
Besides being a handy HTPC remote controller, EFO ‘Smallest’ RF Mini Wireless Keyboard is also suitable for presentation that lecturer, presenter, sales manager and anyone who needs to present something with projected image. EFO ‘Smallest’ RF Wireless Keyboard is able to control computer operation from distance up to 10 meters away, where user could manage some actions:
- Change slides
- Select screen options
- Write on the projected image
- Emphasize words and objects with dynamically
- Inserted lines
- Draw on the projected image dynamically
Standard features and specifications of EFO ‘Smallest’ RF Mini Wireless Keyboard are:
- Rechargeable Li-ion batteries: Last longer that it is up to two weeks between charges
- Short recharge time: Around two hours can fully charge the battery
- Indication light: Multiple indication lights for signal, data transmission and power
- Backlighting: Makes text entry effortless even in dim light
- Compact: Perfect size for portable (60 X 100 X 10 mm)
- QWERTY keyboard: Standard Keyboard layout for convenience input
- Charge Voltage/Current: 5V/300mA
EFO ‘Smallest’ RF Mini Wireless Keyboard is available at EFO Gadget Shop. For Pre-Launch booking, price is $40 and will be back to normal to $50 when it is officially launched in September.
Jul
29
People following what Google TV is up to, and wondering how home users are going to interact with web content on their TVs, will be interested to know that Synaptics is on the case. The company has just announced that their working with Philips Home Control to integrate TouchPad technology into future remotes. The added tech will enable the remotes to take in touch and gesture commands (assuming this means multi-touch commands like: rotate, pinch-to-zoom, swipe, etc.) for moving a cursor on a TV screen, navigating menu systems / media libraries, and scrolling web pages. Unfortunately, no prototype is available to show (above is Philips’ TSU9400 remote), but it does sound good. I’m curious what the form factor of these remotes will be and how text input will work.
Synaptics TouchPad™ Technology Extends into the Digital Living Room
New Digital Home Entertainment Usage Models Demand a More Intuitive User Interface for Remote Control Devices
SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 28 — Synaptics Inc. (Nasdaq: SYNA), a leading developer of human interface solutions for mobile computing, communications, and entertainment devices, is helping to simplify the user experience in the digital living room with an adaption of its industry-leading TouchPad™ solution.
Improved digital home entertainment systems including cable and satellite set-top boxes, digital video recorders (DVR), and HD televisions have driven the media and entertainment usage model evolution with a wide range of features and programming, multiple layers of information, and complicated menu structures.
Synaptics is currently working with Philips Home Control, a leading wireless input and control solution provider, on implementing an optimized hardware-level specification for TouchPad technology that provides easy integration into remote control devices to improve the usability of these complicated user interfaces and increase the interaction between users and content. TouchPad technology allows users to navigate a cursor, scroll through menus and media libraries, and make selections similar to how they would on a PC notebook in a highly-productive, intuitive, and efficient manner.“We believe that our touch technology will significantly improve the entertainment experience in a transition similar to what we have seen in the mobile space — increased data and content on smartphones required a dynamic, touch-oriented, and gesture-based interface,” said Mark Vena, senior vice president and general manager of Synaptics’ PC division. “In the digital living room, remote control devices can benefit from intuitive capacitive touch interaction such as pointing or scrolling gestures. New usage models for entertainment such as Google TV and Windows 7 Media Center will bring more functionality, content, and complexity to the media experience such that button controls will not provide a friendly user experience.”
Microsoft, Logitech, Sony, and Medion have utilized Synaptics TouchPad technology in the remote control category for several years, originating with Synaptics’ “Boomerang” concept remote control in 2007. Synaptics believes that the adoption of its TouchPad and gesture technology in the remote control device category will experience initial momentum with bundled remotes (e.g. combined with set-top boxes or HDTVs) where advanced functionality is more widely available.
About Synaptics
Synaptics (Nasdaq: SYNA) is a leading developer of human interface solutions for the mobile computing, communications, and entertainment industries. The company creates interface solutions for a variety of devices including notebook PCs, PC peripherals, digital music players, and mobile phones. The TouchPad™, Synaptics’ flagship product, is integrated into a majority of today’s notebook computers. Consumer electronics and computing manufacturers use Synaptics’ solutions to enrich the interaction between humans and intelligent devices through improved usability, functionality, and industrial design. The company is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif. www.synaptics.com