Amulet Remote actually listens when you yell at it

Now here’s a novel concept. The Amulet Remote, designed specifically for Vista Media Center but likely adaptable to other setups, is a voice-activated controller that enables users to record a series, watch a recorded show, skip to a new playlist or queue up a photo slideshow by simply hooting and hollering. The built-in microphone is there to take whatever vocal abuse you feel is warranted, and there are even a few actual buttons if you’re still fond of the tried-and-true approach. It’s expected to ship in March for a palatable $299; have a look at what it can do for you in the video after the break.

[Thanks, Vanbrothers]

Continue reading Amulet Remote actually listens when you yell at it

Filed under: ,

Amulet Remote actually listens when you yell at it originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Jan 2009 13:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Buffalo’s Web Access hands-on: remote access from your iPhone

16 gigs ain’t enough space for all those episodes of The Hills on your iPhone? Well, if you’ve got a Buffalo NAS such as the LinkStation Mini or Pro, you can now access all your files remotely on your OS X mobile device through an optimized web page straight from your device. The really nifty part is that you can stream MPEGs over 3G (and presumably EDGE, though we don’t know why you’d want to) — although it took around 60 seconds to buffer a TV show episode in the demo we got. The Buffalo rep we spoke with informed us that an actual app would be available in the App Store sometime this quarter, but if you’re itching to catch up with LC and the gang, be sure to check out any one of the aforementioned devices that support the service and you could be streaming pronto.

Filed under: , ,

Buffalo’s Web Access hands-on: remote access from your iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Echostar’s new DVR UI kills the number pad, long live the touch pad

Dish Network 922 UI

At the Echostar press event today the new 922 UI and remote was unveiled and what do you know the number pad was replaced with a touch pad. So now instead of direct dialing a number you select the numbers on the screen (pictured after the jump) with a touch pad which is similar to a touch pad on most laptops. We’re not sure how we feel about this, it has promise, but we admit it’ll be hard to give up the numbers.

Continue reading Echostar’s new DVR UI kills the number pad, long live the touch pad

Filed under: ,

Echostar’s new DVR UI kills the number pad, long live the touch pad originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

UiRemote is like a remote… in your iPhone

Yeah, sure, name any IR-equipped phone in existence and odds good to excellent that you can find a universal remote app for it, but you probably can’t think of many for the iPhone, now, can you? They exist, yes, but they tend to carry a home-automation slant since the lack of an infrared port leaves the thing relegated to WiFi duty. Enter UiRemote, an ambitious little project undertaken by a handful of scrappy University of Toronto students that uses a fingertip-sized IR blaster connected to the headphone jack paired with a totally customizable app to get the job done. Novel? Not necessarily, but when you consider that a dedicated remote with these specs would probably run half a grand, it’s an interesting way to save money and still end up with the coolest AV controller on the block. The devs are still tweaking both the module and the app, but hopes are high that they’ll be available to all interested parties in the next couple months.

Filed under: , ,

UiRemote is like a remote… in your iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 21:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Logitech’s Harmony 1100 remote is more touchscreen, less buttons

Logitech’s last Harmony launch was of the subtle and sneaky variety, but there’s nothing at all quiet about this one. The big, bold and brash Harmony 1100 is showing itself here in Las Vegas, and the primary selling point is the customizable, 3.5-inch QVGA full-color touchscreen. Rather than getting your buttons all gummed up with pizza grease, you can now smear a nice, innocent panel as you attempt to alter volume and change channels. As expected, the unit packs a rechargeable battery and RF capabilities, and the guided online setup should make programming a lesson in simplicity. Can’t wait to get your own? Tough luck, ’cause this one’s not shipping to the US and Europe until next month for $499.99.

[Via Electronic House]

Filed under: ,

Logitech’s Harmony 1100 remote is more touchscreen, less buttons originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 10:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Hillcrest Labs hops on the RF4CE remote control bandwagon with TI

Hillcrest Labs and TI RF4CENothing is more frsutrating than when your IR remote “misses” a piece of gear — your whole carefully synchronized setup goes out of whack, especially if you’ve got macros programmed on that remote. Hillcrest Labs is hoping to save you some headaches by joining up with Texas Instruments to produce RF remotes that comply with the RF4CE standard that came out last summer. They’ll be showing some of these new wares off at CES, and we expect RF technology is pretty much essential for use with Hillcrest’s Freespace motion control where the whole point of the device is to wave it about with reckless disregard for a chicklet-sized IR sensor. Press release past the break.

Continue reading Hillcrest Labs hops on the RF4CE remote control bandwagon with TI

Filed under: ,

Hillcrest Labs hops on the RF4CE remote control bandwagon with TI originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

GestureTek brings 3D and gestures together for remote control

GestureTekThe idea of gesture-based remote control isn’t new, but GestureTek has added in 3D tracking to the mix for, you guessed it — even more expressive interaction with your TV. After all, you don’t live in flatland, so why should your remote control gestures? Of course, adding in depth perception requires the use of more than one webcam, but maybe that’s not a big tradeoff in our age of six and more speakers in the living room. The setup will be on display at CES (sans Xpletive), so we’ll try and swing by for a, um, hands on while we puzzle over how to add voice commands to this system. Watching the big game with your buddies just might get even more entertaining yet.

Filed under: , , ,

GestureTek brings 3D and gestures together for remote control originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 20:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

ASUS offers up branded keyboard / mouse combo, remote for Eee Box

If your Eee Box experience is lacking something that you can’t quite put your finger on, we’re 85.32% sure we know what’ll fill that void. According to Eee PC News, ASUS is gearing up to ship an Eee-branded wireless keyboard / mouse combo in both black and white motifs, and if that’s still not enough Eee to cure your fever, the multi-function remote should handle those media center duties with ease. There’s no mention of a price or release date, so we suppose you should assume these are completely fictional until proven otherwise.

Filed under:

ASUS offers up branded keyboard / mouse combo, remote for Eee Box originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Dec 2008 13:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments