Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

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."

22 of 195 comments (clear)

  1. But can it withstand.... by Dinjay · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The drop test, the fluid contamination tests? This thing looks way too fragile.

    --
    You break all the laws of physics and you seriously think there wouldn't be a price?
  2. Update via modem by dfn5 · · Score: 3, Funny

    So when I go on a business trip I can dial back into my remote and reconfigure it? And I thought checking my email was cool.

    --
    -- Thou hast strayed far from the path of the Avatar.
  3. buttons drawn? by Alrescha · · Score: 4, Insightful

    My interpretation of the web page says that the keys are pre-defined, and only the appropriate ones are displayed ('lit', perhaps?). In my mind, this is different from 'drawn' which implies a different level of sophistication.

    It does look cool, and the auto-on motion detection is a nice touch.

    A.

    --
    ...bringing you cynical quips since 1998
  4. Mo-dem? by JessLeah · · Score: 5, Funny

    You can update new device interfaces via a modem...

    Mo-dem? What's a mo-dem?... I think I remember Mo-dems...those were those slow things with the blinkylights that we all had before we got residential DSL and cable...right? And you could type +++ATH0 and it e(6`|:fK6@(^*&#~~~NO CARRIER

    --
    Honey, I shrunk the Cygwin
    1. Re:Mo-dem? by JessLeah · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Ooh, please don't just recommend USB like that. USB can be dangerous in the wrong hands.

      The land of USB peripherals seems to be the land of "rolling your own" protocols. For that (and possibly other) reasons, USB support in Linux is pretty sparse. Heck, I have some USB mice (!!!) that refuse to work (namely, the nice, cheap, $6 (but surprisingly high-quality) Kensington Mouse-in-a-Box USB (with scrolly wheel) even as of 2.4.19.

      I'm not quite sure why, but some sorts of ports seem to invite "roll your own protocol"-itis. Parallel ports spawned much of this sort of behavior-- remember all the parallel port scanners, digital cameras, and electric tweezers that came out in the mid-90s? Ditto USB; everything seems to do things its own way.

      Then there's serial. Serial is serial is serial, by and by, it's easy to reverse engineer things (since the tools to do so have been around for decades-- heck, you can just plug a serial device into a dumb terminal and watch the data flow by-- or more likely watch the device try to handshake with a non-existant desktop ;) ) Also SCSI. I've never heard of a modern SCSI scanner brand that ISN'T supported by Linux. ALL modern SCSI CD-ROM drives are supported. ALL SCSI hard drives (since they adhere to the same standard.)

      But step into the world of USB and the picture gets a bit murkier... unless you're running Windows, of course, where all the drivers are available since the hardware manufacturers themselves make it.

      Case in point: I lack a SCSI card in my box at the moment. And I needed a scanner, and didn't want to do any weird diddling with parport scanners. So I decided to go USB. It took me a whole 15 minutes of scanning through dozens, and dozens, and dozens of USB scanner listings on eBay to find one that was supported "stably" (not listed as "experimental" on the SANE page) under Linux/Unix...

      --
      Honey, I shrunk the Cygwin
  5. Bah by Jonboy+X · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What good is a remote that you have to look at to change the channel? No amount of bells and/or whistles will make up for not being able to feel the buttons...

    --

    "In a 32-bit world, you're a 2-bit user. You've got your own newsgroup, alt.total.loser." -Weird Al
    1. Re:Bah by Malicious · · Score: 5, Funny
      People used to get called lazy because they didn't want to leave the couch to change the channel...

      What do you call a person who doesn't want to have to *look* at the remote?

      --
      01101001001000000110000101101101001000000110001001 10000101110100011011010110000101101110
  6. tactile? by Lepruhkawn · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It says it has a pushbutton remote "feel" but the surface looks flat to me.

    The problem I have with these programmable touch-screen remotes is that I can't feel the buttons.

    I hate looking at a remote when I want to use it.

    --
    Jesus saves....And takes 1/2 damage.
    1. Re:tactile? by John+Whitley · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It's not clear what feedback technology this company is using, but a fantastic SIGCHI 2001 poster presentation by an NTT researcher showed how this problem can be solved -- and cheaply at that.

      The gist is that piezo "thumper" or a stock tiny portable speaker can be programmed to emit low-frequency vibrations when a key is pressed. Not only does this provide very nifty positive feedback from a touchscreen surface, but the feel itself is programmable. E.g. the demo hardware was an all-LCD desk calculator where the buttons were done as soft keys. The clear button had a tactile sensation distinct from the feedback given by the other buttons. I'm eagerly awaiting this tech to propagate into production devices...

    2. Re:tactile? by agallagh42 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The tactile feedback we want is not to tell us when a button has been pressed, it's to let us FIND the button without looking at the remote.

      --
      Carpe Cerevisi - Seize the Beer
  7. Watch out for the upcoming lawsuits... by twoslice · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "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."

    I am sure that there is going to be a number of patent infringements in there somewhere. Numerous lawsuits will be underway before the thing hits the shelves.
    - 20 -

    --

    From excellent karma to terible karma with a single +5 funny post...
  8. 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
  9. Not so good: no "touch zapping" by tamnir · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I don't know about you guys, but I usually don't look at the remote control when zapping between channels, changing the volume. Expect for the most exotic functions, I never need to look down and find the key. I just "touch type" on the remote control.

    With this new device, that wouldn't be possible. Ok, you can have several remote controls integrated into one. But we already have that with normal remote controls...

    So, really, apart from the geek fractor, this thing just sounds like a pain to use. Imagine a keyboard without keys! Oh, but wait...

    --
    I code, therefore I am.
  10. Already done... by singularity · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Marantz has been offerring devices similar to this for quite some time. Check out the RC9200 and RC5200. They offer a serial port connection for easy connection to a PC to get more codes installed.

    They are also available in the United States.

    --
    - (c) 2018 Hank Zimmerman
  11. Re:But can it withstand....Killer Couch. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    "The drop test, the fluid contamination tests? This thing looks way too fragile."

    You forgot the "Eaten by the couch" test.
    Very few remotes come out of that.

  12. Philips Pronto by cheinonen · · Score: 3, Funny

    Why don't you just go with the new high end Philips Pronto they showed in Time's gift guide. It's only $1,700 and has built in 802.11b networking, what more do you need in a remote? I'm pretty sure you can almost buy one of those new TabletPC's and I'm sure turn it into a way to control your TV for that price. I can see spending $200 for a remote if you have a $5,000 setup, but you better have one really, really nice home theater to pay $1,700.

  13. And you have to think about... by Flyskippy1 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Does it run on OS? In sure it'll be terrible when someone calls from the Living Room...

    "Honey, the remote Blue Screened again..."

  14. $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
    1. Re:$60 at RadioShack by pc486 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Most of the time electronics in the UK are MUCH more expensive than the US, not just on par. My floormate here at UCSC is a transfer student from University of York, England and he waited to buy tons of electronics here, like a new digital camera and a new monitor, because the prices were undercut by half, sometimes three times.

      <OT> I used to work for Radio Shack and I can vouch that at $60 for that remote RS is likly making over $20 profit. Also remember that Radio Shack sales associates are under commision and spiffs, so never trust them on opinions and note that the price is probably lower somewhere else with some exceptions. Second hint: always ask about discontinued merchandise for expensive items. Most of the time the older model is just as good and sold under cost. Once a former coworker got a $270 scanner for $30. </OT>

  15. Re:Sounds nice. by Rolo+Tomasi · · Score: 3, Funny
    Still too expensive, you can get a used Palm III for that price. The Palm with the OmniRemote app is quite powerful. I used to program mine as an alarm clock. When it was time to wake up, the Palm would first set the volume of my amp to zero, start the CD player and then gradually increase the amp's volume over several minutes. You were bound to wake up at some point :). Really spooky to see the volume knob rotate all by itself ...

    Of course, it was also ideal for pranks. I'd put the palm on top of the cupboard, so it was difficult to see, and then programmed it to switch TV channels at prime time ... lots o' fun.

    --
    Did you know you can fertilize your lawn with used motor oil?
  16. 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

  17. 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.