Tech Reaction

I have been going down the long path of investigating 10′ control options and there were three that sounded like they could be the best out there – so we bought them all and have been putting them through their paces. Ultimately, I like each of them, each performs exceptionally, and I would reccomend them all. 10′ control for the PC was pretty stale until the iPod touch basically took over, but these dedicated devices are a step forward and as long as your eyesight is good make it possible to navigate Windows from your sofa. At home we cut cable and rely on terrestrial HD and the PC exclusively for content, so these remotes are used almost daily for the tasks of navigating Windows, Hulu Desktop, VLC, Netflix, Kylo, IE, and Boxee.  

I have had good experiences with the The Cideko Air Keyboard, the Freespace Loop Pointer, and the well established Gyration Media Center Music Remote. With all three on one PC – yes you can! - I find myself instinctively reaching for one or another depending on what I am doing.

I reach for the Cideko Air Keyboard when browsing the web at a distance since it offers mouse and keyboard control in a single device and has text capability somewhere between a blackberry and a real keyboard – and the keyboard feel is quite good. I was suprised how small it is, but ultimately, that improved it’s usability as a mouse so I am not complaining.

The Freespace loop pointer has very good accuracy and serves as a functional showcase for motion sensing IC’s from Hillcrest Labs. It is the most accuate air mouse I have ever used and feels like a high-tech pointer should. It has an on/off button and it points perfectly. Like all of these pointers it is not absolute, but this mouse retains position awareness after moving it around very well. When you get out of whack, you just push up against one of the sides of the screen – it bcomes a reflex after a while. I have recently done a nice demo where I grab a video on one screen at a desk and drag it over to a large screen TV where a single PC is controlling both screens. After grabbing the window, you can basically stroll around with the left buttion depressed and then swing it onto the second screen, without worrying about where your hands where going in between. It’s a neat way to show the potential of multi-room computing and feels the most “Minority Report” of all of the controllers. Until Kinect for PC comes along and rocks our 10′ interface to Windows & Media Center world, this is about as slick as it gets.

The Gyration (at Amazon) controller is a just a great Media Center remote that has very good air mouse capability and my wife and I tend to use this remote the most and primarily to navigate Hulu which seems to want U/D/L/R and mouse control for easy navigation. This remote is able to employ the Windows Media Center play list so that you can cue music for playback even if your screen is out. It works, and music playback without the TV screen on is really a very nice feature, and it was really the one that drove me to my current undertstanding of the 10′ control problem. The Gyration keyboard also works fine with very good range but it’s not going to win any design awards.

Clearly the Cideko and Freespace solutions are using very recent motion sening tech and the Gyration remote is showing its age – but there still isn’t a better Media Center remote out there that I have seen. Batteries are required for all three and all three have very good battery life. No recharging docs. All of them have exceptional range – I think they are all BlueTooth based. And they each cost about $100. If I had to live with one, the Gyration solution is really priced well and includes a full keyboard. But each of these is very nice and I enjoy using all three.

Freespace Loop Mouse is at the HillCrest Labs Here is there store but otherwise it is scarce . I would buy one now rather than wait.

The Cideko Keyboard is pretty easy to find now and you can get it - direct link – here at Amazon