Photo: Electricpig

What’s that sound? Oh, it’s all the large consumer electronics companies jumping on a bandwagon. Yes, following the smashing successes of Nintendo’s creative Wii controller and Apple’s iPhone, major consumer electronics manufacturers are coming out with their own motion sensing controllers. Last month we reported on the Philips uWave; today we bring you LG’s Magic Motion.

As reported in Electricpig, SlipperyBrick, and CNET Asia, LG unveiled a prototype of their magic wand remote control at IFA this week. The system places a cursor on the screen (of your LG television) which you can manipulate by waving or rotating the wand. Once you have identified the menu item you want to select, then you press a button on the remote control to activate.

All-in-all, this seems like the gimmicky stuff we have come to expect out of electronics tradeshows — designed more to give the company buzz than to introduce a real product. And so we have obediently obliged. I wouldn’t expect to see the Magic Motion Remote Control anytime soon on store shelves.

This has been quite a week for waterproof remotes. And just in time for winter, thank goodness…

It began last Thursday when we learned from Ubergizmo and Tech Fresh that Sony is launching a colorful line of waterproof remotes in Japan on September 10. The completely waterproof remote, the Sony RM-PZ3SD,  will sell for $29.

We considered writing a post on the news last week, but we weren’t convinced it was newsworthy until yesterday when Pantel announced the second amphibious remote control we’ve seen in less than seven days.  And Pantel’s remote floats, so you can just let it drift around in the Jacuzzi.

It isn’t really in the same league as the Sony remote though. There’s no need for a floating Pantel remote unless you have a Pantel weatherproof HDTV, which run between $2,999 and $25,999.

Public opinion on waterproof remotes is mixed. “Add Sony Remotes to the List of things Man Never Needed to Waterproof,” says Gizmodo’s Mark Wilson.

Pocket-lint’s Stuart Miles appears to be enthusiastic about the concept; although there’s a possibility we didn’t pick up on his sarcasm: “The must have gadget for water lovers of the century.” His recent post is a litany of ways Sony could market its waterproof line.

Some of us here are asking, “Waterproof remote, why not?” Maybe we’re just caught up in the romance of it all; having had two occasions to think about waterproof remotes in one week inspired beautiful daydreams–sitting in a pool in paradise, remote in hand.

Let’s face it, how many people do you know who have ever cleaned their TV remote? Not those parents who find themselves cleaning peanut butter off  every surface in the house, but people who have truly attempted to sanitize their remotes? If it was waterproof maybe you could just throw it in the dishwasher.

While nobody but Sony can change PlayStation hardware, others have found a few ways around the IR/Bluetooth communication debacle. This morning SMK-Link announced the latest way to avoid using your PS3 controller, the Blu-Link Universal Remote Control for PlayStation 3.

As the first remote to use both IR and Bluetooth, the Blu-Link allows wireless control of the PS3 (including control of the Blu-ray and DVD player) in addition to universal remote functionality for other home entertainment devices. In a nutshell, the Blu-Link could potentially be your only remote because in addition to controlling your PS3, it can be programmed to control pretty much anything in your entertainment center.

At a suggested retail price of just $49.95,  Blu-Link  more affordable than some of its competitors, which we’ll discuss after noting that the following products are all a little bit different. Check out some of the links below for details on SMK-Link’s quasi-competitors  in alternative PS3 control.

The first alternative is the PS3IR-1000 from Schmartz, an IR to Bluetooth converter, for $79.95. This has the same functionality as the PS3 Blu-ray remote but with added IR capabilities, which allow you to use your existing universal remote to control your PS3.

Another similar option is the Harmony Adaptor for PLAYSTATION 3. This adaptor has IR- Blutooth converter capabilities, but it’s only compatible with remotes from Logitech’s Harmony line of universal remotes. Harmony’s PS3 adaptor will set you back $59.99, but don’t forget to factor in the cost of about the cost of a Harmony remote.

There are probably other options too. Please share if you have one in mind.

Whatever solution you choose, kick back and enjoy being free from your PS3 controller. Oh those were horrible days. Okay, not really; but this is way better.

Photo: OnOne

Version 1.1 of OnOne’s DSLR Camera Remote for iPhone and iPod touch is finally available at the App Store.

The what? CrunchGear’s Devin Coldewey explains, “…this is an app that lets you control and shoot your DSLR [digital camera] from afar, pretty much controlling every aspect of the shot and getting a live preview…”

Today’s release (which was supposed to come out in mid-July) adds support for Nikon cameras and includes a bunch of new features and fixes.

According to Charlie Sorrel of Wired Gadget Lab, “The full version DSLR Camera Remote is $20, much cheaper than the dumb-remotes both Nikon and Canon will sell you. There is also a $2 Lite version which lacks many controls and Live View, but will trigger the camera.”

The flurry of media attention around DSLR Camera Remote over the last few months points to something larger than news about yet another popular iPhone remote control app. It’s sign that that the iPhone has really become the all-purpose mobile device. And we’re just beginning to see the effect of Apple’s dominant app store.

We’re not trying to break any hearts here, but other app stores don’t stand a chance. Without Apple’s app audience and ecosystem of app developers, other handsets are really nothing more than feature phones. Thus, Apple’s iPhone is the only handset with a future (Yup, we said it).

Good luck getting iPhone users switch to BlackBerry–or any smartphone for that matter–now that they’re getting a taste of the only true mobile computing platform (Quiet you! We’re not talking about netbooks and laptops…).

Wii fans — brace yourselves as your beloved Wiimote goes mainstream. Or maybe not…

Philips is set to unveil the uWand, a TV (and PC) remote looks a little (and works a lot) like your Wii Remote‘s cousin.

According to Rapid TV News editorial director Chris Forrester, Philips will demonstrate its uWand remote control for both TV and PC platforms for the first time at IBC2009 in mid-September. Philips began working on the concepts and technology behind uWand in 1999 and formally announced its development in 2006.

uWand is a remote control shaped handheld direct pointer, that also delivers 3D capabilities, with the same intuitiveness as a multi-touch screen. A special camera embedded in the uWand allows users directly interact with TV or PC by pointing, clicking and making fluid 3D gestures (part computer mouse, part Wii Remote, part couch potato).

This reminds us a little PrimeSense technology (noted in an earlier post) whose 3D sensing system allows you to control your TV through physical gestures. uWand isn’t nearly as creepy as the Prime Sensor because it’s doesn’t “watch” the people controlling it; it “watches” the device it’s controlling.

While the demonstration at IBC will be limited to TV and PC applications, Philips claims that the uWand could control almost anything, including set-top boxes, media players, game consoles, lighting systems, digital photo frames, et cetera.

Reportedly, Philips already has commercial deals in place with device manufacturers and technology providers. Like most of the new control systems we see, its developers claim that there are applications in fields like medicine and education. The real issue as we see it is lack of compatibility with all the devices you already own. Will the uWand pan out? We’ll be watching…

Video: EETimes

Showers can help you relax. Remote controls can help you relax. Why not combine them for the ultimate in relaxation? Perhaps that is what product managers at Moen thought when they hatched the idea of adding remote control capability to their ioDIGITAL showers and baths.

It’s hard to argue with the premise here — I’d give thumbs up to a good shower, and thumbs up to a good remote control. On the other hand (yes, I have more than two thumbs), don’t you have to be standing in the shower to enjoy it? If so, what’s the point? Perhaps this is like a remote starter for your car — you still have to get in the car to use it, but for people who can’t stand to wait a few seconds for the temperature to adjust, you have a remote control.

To be fair, the ioDIGITAL system seems to have a lot more going for it than remote control. Digitally controlled temperature and flow settings, four different presets so that you can get exactly what you want each time without having to fiddle with knobs — these seem like real benefits. But a tiny remote that you will spend more time locating than you would walking over to the bath and hitting one of those preset buttons? Please, spare the expense.

Speaking of expense, the LA Times reports that MSRP for the ioDIGITAL shower or Roman tub is $1,200, while the vertical spa (rain shower head plus four body jets) will set you back a cool $2,500.

The latest version of the i.TV iPhone app allows hardware manufacturers to offer iPhone remote control capabilities for their devices, as reported on Pocket–lint.

We like i.TV’s cool television guide and movie listings features, which have been available since the app’s debut. Now the new i.TV version offers a “remote control framework” that allows “third parties to develop remote controls for use on the i.TV platform.” According to i.TV, TiVO is already doing this.

So, does i.TV 2.0 turn the iPhone into a remote control? Not exactly.

What they are providing is a software platform to integrate i.TV with other devices, potentially including other remote controls. However, hardware manufacturers will need to update their device firmware to interface with i.TV. Moreover, manufacturers will need to have Wi-Fi or Bluetooth integrated into their devices in order to communicate with the iPhone — otherwise, no remote control.

Bottom line: we subscribe to the vision, but because of its dependency on third-party hardware manufacturers to write custom code, and without the possibility of integrating with devices that don’t speak Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, i.TV can’t truly be “universal.”

Courtesy: Paramount Pictures

If you’re a geek like we are, you may have seen the pilot for the original Star Trek series, “The Cage,” created and written by the immortal Gene Roddenberry back in 1966. Roddenberry had an extraordinary knack for predicting how technology would unfold in the future. “Communicators” and “Tricorders,” for example, uncannily recall today’s smart phones and PDAs.

“The Cage” features Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Christopher Pike (pictured above holding the phaser), held prisoner on a strange planet inhabited by extremely advanced humanoids — the Talosians — with huge, pulsating heads (you can probably pick out the Talosian in the picture). These beings control things with their thoughts, moving stuff around telepathically using only mind waves. Once again, Roddenberry hit the nail on the head in the Predictions Department because the Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) is now a reality.

“Although the concept has been around for nearly 40 years, scientists have made significant advancements in BCI technology over the past 10 years,” writes Joseph Zeni for www.brainblogger.com. “BCI technology has recently been used to drive a robotic arm for self-feeding in a monkey. The animal was initially trained using a joystick to control the robotic arm. The joystick was eventually weaned and motor activity from the cortex was recorded via an implanted electrode. Signals from the cortex were decoded in real-time to control the movement of the robotic arm. The monkey was then able to feed himself via the robotic arm, using only his conscious thought.”

Currently, research at Brown University is generating BCI technology to help people with disabilities gain “communication, mobility, and independence, writes” Zeni. Within the BCI development community, creativity, technology, and the desire to help people live better lives are combining in exciting and thought-provoking ways.

Read the whole BrainBlogger article here.

Put on your thinking cap. What would you like to see BCI technology do in the future?

Instead of a remote, viewers can perform common actions (like changing channels) through physical gestures. It’s pretty advanced though; you even type on a virtual keyboard. And you thought The Clapper was cool…

In a post for Light Reading’s Cable Digital News, editor Jeff Baumgartner explained that, “The camera, powered by Prime Sense’s chip, projects an infrared (IR) field into the room to help determine what’s in front of the camera, going as far as identifying which ‘users’ are sitting in front of the TV, based on their thermal images.” He and others are a little concerned about the privacy questions raised by technology like this.

So are 3D sensing technologies the wave of the future? Companies like Prime Sense, Canesta, EDGE 3 Technologies, GestureTek, Softkinetic and others think so. According to Multichannel News editor Todd Spangler, Prime Sense has customers in the pipeline, has distributed 1,000 software-development kits to CE manufacturers, and expects to be shipping in volume as early as Q4 of this year.

Bottom line: control innovations like the Prime Sensor are extremely cool, albeit slightly creepy. Maybe we’re just paranoid but… Big Brother’s probably not watching all your movements yet. With technologies like this floating around in the pipeline, what could happen when a majority of televisions are connected to the internet? Suddenly a 3D camera pointed at your living room or bedroom loses its appeal. Maybe remotes aren’t that bad after all.

*We almost forgot to mention that the Prime Sensor has potential gaming applications as well. Imagine playing without a controller! Someday we’ll regale the youth with stories about the Wii, the NES Power Pad, sore thumbs from an afternoon spent trying to beat the game…

Photos: Logitech

Logitech’s Harmony remote controls have been solid performers for the last few years, and consumers have responded by snapping up the devices at retail. From a usability standpoint, in its early days Harmony broke ground by offering one-button launch of activities and a PC-based setup process that did not require the intervention of a custom installer — high end functionality for the masses.

From that auspicious beginning, change has come rather slowly to the Harmony line. The addition of a color touchscreen here, some improved ergonomics in the wand design there… these were all welcome improvements, if a bit incremental.

As of today we can add radio frequency (RF) control to that list of advances. Yes, before now you could achieve RF capability with a Harmony 1100 by purchasing an RF extender for another $100, or you could purchase a Harmony 890. But since its launch the Harmony One has been the icon of the line, and it was purely an infrared (IR) remote. Now the newly announced Harmony 900 — in essence a Harmony One plus RF capability and a couple of included IR blasters — looks set to replace the Harmony One. Or at least it might if it did not cost $150 more.

The reality is that the Harmony 900 isn’t much more than a rebranded Harmony 890. It has the better ergonomics of the Harmony One, but in terms of functionality it doesn’t really offer anything that we didn’t get in the 890… except a higher price tag. Needless to say, we were a little surprised to see all the gadget blogs buzzing with the news this morning.

Don’t get us wrong: the Harmony One is a solid remote, and adding RF capability is a welcome improvement. Logitech may even be underselling the utility of RF in remote controls. Particularly in devices like the Harmony that allow “macros” — one button touch to play back multiple commands in sequence — IR remotes require the user to hold her hand steadily pointed at the equipment until all of those commands are executed properly. We just wonder whether these changes are worth all the fuss, especially considering the new $400 price point.