Entertainment variety is expanding. More channels, more content and more competition. Television sets are constantly evolving. They are getting thinner the resolution is getting better and the colors or more impactive. Prices on the older TV technologies are dropping to an unbelievably low price. If you bought a TV five years ago you could probably get a larger version of the same set at a third of the price. Fortunately for us, ” The TV remote is here to stay”.
Content is hardly free any longer however. You can still attach a pair of rabbit ears to you set and get a few channels but there are more and more subscription channels. HBO started the pay TV model years ago with little or no competition. Your only option was to drive to your local video store and rent a movie. Often keeping it too long and paying through the nose for additional late fees. Everyone is glad those days are over. There are even more and more options available that you can pay for.
One thing I continue to fear is the invention of the remote-less TV set. There are options for some models that will work with your cell phone, unfortunately the options are limited and old habits are hard to break. Programmable remotes kind of work but there is always something that doesn’t work or you have to be a rocket scientist to make it work.There are however some new technologies peaking over the horizon that are exciting.
The Gesture Remote is one that we have found that caught our interest. The Gesture remote allows you to surf different applications simply with unique gestures. It looks like a small TV remote and fits in the palm of your hand but has no buttons on it what so ever. The new technology is named GestIC® which will enable you to control products without touching the electronics, screen, track pad, or keyboard. You simply control your devices using hand and finger gestures.
We haven’t tested this device so can’t speak about the complexity of it. I don’t know if you have to take a six week class with a written and manual driving test to be able to use it. I can only imagine someone sitting there using it might look like an orchestra conductor or someone having an embolism. My first thought is that most remotes are complicated to begin with so it will be totally up to the users to determine it’s popularity. We will let you know more as time progresses. To see a demo visit http://www.gesture-remote.com/
