Philips DUAL Remote Concept

With all the feverish design by companies like Google and Apple to create a product that merges Internet and traditional TV viewing, it’s easy to loose sight of the small product details that don’t drive headlines.  While each company is proposing various versions of TV’s “next generation” interface, it’s important not to forget the importance of the remote control’s design.  We’ve seen clever remote designs, such as the full QWERTY keyboard on the Boxee Box’ remote or the oddly shaped GenosTV Cyclops, but neither will likely reach the mass market available to products from Google and Apple.  Two recently announced universal remote control concepts could inspire the future of human interaction with televisions and possibly drive the interface designs for which they would ultimately control.

Philips Home Control DUAL offers two sides of operation.  One side consists of easily recognizable channel, volume, and playback controls, while the opposite side houses a full QWERTY keyboard.  Few other details exist, other than the fact that a release date for the DUAL has not been established.

IDENT Technology's Gesture Remote

Taking things a step further conceptually, the Gesture Remote from IDENT Technology eliminates the buttons on the remote control entirely, instead opting for a touchpad-like surface that senses finger motions which can be interpreted to trigger actions.  User interfaces developed for the Gesture Remote could more closely mimic the computer interfaces to which most people are familiar.  Check out the video below.

The revamped Apple TV is an admitted attempt to bring Internet streaming technology out of the “hobby-stream” and into the mainstream.  Competitive products from Roku and Boxee, as well as upcoming offerings like Google TV, all give users varying degrees of freedom from traditional cable and satellite based subscription services.  The niche market to which these devices play is growing with each product iteration, but remains minuscule compared to the markets of the incumbent providers.

None of these new Internet media streaming devices or services is yet robust enough in either its available content or interface to supplant traditional providers such as Comcast and Verizon.  For many subscribers to cable or satellite TV service, HDTV and DVR’s are still the driving force of service upgrades.  The general population still needs time to adjust to the changes in viewing behavior these mature technologies afford before they’ll be willing to alter their viewing habits yet again.

This isn’t to say that early adopters won’t drive early growth as they alone adapt to some form of Internet streaming media offering.  Many products from several competing companies currently offer users various visions of what the future of TV will entail.  Unfortunately, this fractured market without standards could work against companies like Apple and Google as the legacy providers develop similar competing services that offer just enough functionality to prevent subscribers, already grappling with the last generation of TV technology upgrades, from “cutting the cord.”

We saw this happen with DVR technology as content providers let TiVo cater to a market of enthusiasts while they developed inferior knock-off product offerings with which the market was flooded via their massive customer base.

Apple TV could face TiVo’s fate in its current incarnation.

Content providers have fought a la-carte delivery plans for decades because of the very benefits these plans provide consumers.  Most people realize that they never watch a large percentage of the channels available from their content provider – and that they’re paying unnecessarily for these channels.

Technologies like Apple TV are no different than a la-carte plans and the cable companies know this.  They know that their $100 a month subscription doesn’t stand a chance against $0.99 TV show rentals available from Apple TV.  Even families who watch more than an average amount of TV stand to save money via this new model.  The only thing preventing them from switching is the fact that no single alternative from Apple, Google, Boxee, or any other company has the breadth of available content to which they’re accustomed.  And by the time an alternative comes close, the legacy providers will have a “knock-off” offering with which they can retain customers.

I fully intend to enjoy Apple TV, Google TV, and other products in this space as they become available.  I’ll enjoy them for what they are presently – compelling devices for early adopters, not what they’ll ultimately be when the masses adopt some future, cable company inspired version of this subsequently mature technology.

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So sit back, relax, and go watch some TechVidz!

While parents can’t expect to chaperon  their children on all driving excursions, they can monitor their teens habits with a clever product from Lemur Monitors.  Rather than relying on GPS technology for tracking, the SafeDriver from Lemur has a wireless transmitter module that plugs into a car’s OBD port, which has been required on all new cars sold in the U.S. since 1996.  The transmitter sends data about the car’s speed to a receiver on the teen’s key chain, which logs the information so that it can be reviewed later.  Tampering with the data is also recorded.

While the device isn’t going to physically prevent the kind of irresponsible driving behavior for which teens are notorious, its presence will subtly remind the driver that his/her actions won’t go unnoticed.

[Via:  NYT GadgetWise]

State Farm Insurance recently announced that it released a free Android application called “On The Move” which automatically responds to incoming text messages so that users aren’t tempted to do so while driving.

“The new “On the Move” widget allows Android smartphone users to compose and preload customized messages that can be sent as automated responses to incoming text messages. With the service, instead of reading and responding to text messages while driving or otherwise occupied, smartphone users can activate the service and let the widget respond for them.”

Obviously, State Farm stands to save a lot of money if this application is successfully deployed and reduces auto insurance claims by even a fraction of a percent.  More importantly, the fact the application is free could encourage those that may not have otherwise done so to use it.

Now, a company called Point Inside is developing maps of indoor destinations for use with its mobile smartphone indoor positioning applications.  Point Inside has announced that it is partnering with Meijer stores for a pilot program that will enable shoppers to “see the location of more than 100,000 items in a retail supercenter using their smartphones.”

“Point Inside’s platform facilitates the aggregation of destination-specific content, adding the critical context of location to each item.  This marrying of ‘what’ to ‘where’ enables shoppers to quickly find what they need at their destinations, whether it’s a specific department, service, like a fitting room or restroom, or even an individual product on the shelf.”

While current IPS technology will still likely limit product specific location information, the concept is compelling.  Imagine creating a weekly shopping list that is converted into optimized in-store navigational instructions in much the same way current GPS devices find the shortest route between destinations.  Users would simply follow the instructions on a smartphone, travelling from aisle to aisle, no longer wasting time searching for the right brand of chunky peanut butter or current sale items.

The technology might just make shopping a little more bearable.

Thanks to a new website from the BBC called Dimensions, users can finally visualize dimensional data in an interesting and graspable way.  So try it out.  You’ll be amazed how big the moon really is overlayed onto your town.

Space is so cool…

[Via:  DVICE]