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New EL Touchscreen Remote Control

Posted by chrisd on from the pretty-and-cheap dept.

raminf writes "Stumbled across the Kameleon -- a new remote control device from Univeral Electronics. The interface is a blank electro-luminescent touch-screen. The 'buttons' are animated graphics drawn to match any device you choose . You can update new device interfaces via a modem (specs aren't clear how exactly). You can also define 'macro' buttons to do multiple tasks with one button. Apparently it also has a built-in motion-sensor and turns itself on when you pick it up. You can't buy it directly in the U.S. yet. Here's a British web-site that carries it and has some specs and a picture. Here's the company press release. RadioShack has announced they'll be carrying it retail pretty soon."

4 of 195 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Umm by Twirlip+of+the+Mists · · Score: 5, Informative

    Philips didn't just release the Pronto. It's literally been around for years.

    And the Sony device is totally different. This device and the Pronto use a true LCD display, a la Palm Pilot. The Sony device just uses a backlit template with buttons drawn on it. Depending on your device selection, some buttons are lit and some aren't. Your CD player will have a "play" button, but your TV won't, for instance. But you can't really change the labels of the buttons or anything about their arrangement.

    --

    I write in my journal
  2. $60 at RadioShack by ecarlson · · Score: 3, Informative

    Check it out: Radio Shack Kameleon Remote

    Electronics are usually more espensive in the UK, so Pounds usually match US dollars pretty closely for electronics.

    --
    - Eric, InvisibleRobot.com
  3. Re:Umm by shadowj · · Score: 3, Informative
    I've had a Pronto for two or three years now. Not badly executed... it suffers from a lack of tactile feedback, though. You have to LOOK at the panel before you tap a command, as opposed to a conventional remote where you can FEEL the button.

    My housemate has one of the Sony devices... it's incredibly difficult to program, but usable once you've managed it.

    --

    --Larry

    Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence

  4. JP1 programmable remotes by crow · · Score: 3, Informative

    http://www.hifi-remote.com/jp1/

    There are a number of remotes out there with a six-pin connector that allows you to reprogram them from a computer. This connector is typically accessible from the battery compartment. While most universal remotes have codes for hundreds of devices, with the JP1 connector, you can add new devices that didn't exist when the remote was built. You can also do things that the remote doesn't normally allow (like assigning macros to non-macro buttons). You finally have full control of your remote--you can program every button to do exactly what you want it to do. And you can back it up to a file on your computer.