New Apple Universal Remote at Macworld 2007?
posted in Strategy, User Interface, Hardware |
As we approach the 24-hour countdown to Macworld 2007, I was wondering whether I’d actually be able to purchase my iTV tomorrow, and if so, when it would arrive. My guess is that it will be available for order and will ship either immediately or by the end of the month. (I realize I said I was done with Macworld 2007 predictions, but what’s a guy to do? I’m an Apple fanatic. It’s my drug of choice.)
I also got to thinking… when Apple CEO Steve Jobs pre-announced the iTV, he said it would be compatible with the Apple Remote. You know the one. It looks like an original iPod shuffle in size and design, and has only six buttons. It ships with the newest Mac laptops, iMacs, Mac minis, and is configured to run Front Row out of the box (it can be modified to run other applications as well). It can control an iPod through an iPod dock with infrared sensor, as well.
With the iTV garnering so much attention and speculation, would Apple really release this exciting new product with the same ole remote control? Granted, the Apple Remote is another example of how Apple has taken what are generally poorly designed products (except for the TiVO and Logitech Harmony remotes… more on the latter in a moment) and create an extremely simple, yet powerful design. And it’s clear from the demos of the iTV user interface–the next-generation, acclaimed Front Row software–that the Apple Remote will work extremely well with the iTV, so maybe it is all that’s needed.
But perhaps the device that Jobs is apparently so excited about is not the long-rumored and much-anticipated Apple mobile phone or the true video iPod. Perhaps, instead, it is a new universal remote control that is being released in conjunction with iTV. Like the original iPod Shuffle was the inspiration for the original Apple Remote, perhaps the Nano is the inspiration for a new, more powerful one.
Take the Nano, make it significantly slimmer, add an infrared port and some numeric buttons. Voi la! The buttons would allow for direct input, and bezel mounted controls (from published Apple patents) would allow for screen-based navigation and input for all other functions. The design is actually difficult to think about and describe, but that’s where Jonathon Ive and his team come in. They could do for the universal remote control what they did for the digital music player.
I actually have, use and love a Logitech Harmony 880 universal remote control, and it works brilliantly. Despite a terrible user experience of the web-based configuration software, the product is outstanding, both in terms of its form factor and its usability. It features programmable activities like “Watch TV” that allow you to determine what devices the remote controls for which functions. For example, my Watch TV activity turns on my TV, cable box and AVR; sets all 3 to the right inputs; and configures the controls so that the aspect signal is sent to the TV, change channel is sent to the cable box, and change volume is sent to the AVR. All the button and menu options work as expected, but you can custom-configure the entire thing if you want.
A remote that works as well as this, has Apple’s design sensibility, features much better configuration software, and works with Macs, iPods and the iTV out of the box might be a killer consumer electronics product, indeed. This makes so much sense in terms of Apple’s digital hub strategy, total control of the user experience and ecosystem, compatibility with existing and announced (in the case of iTV) products, size of potential market, likely cost and profit margin for such a device, and their experience/expertise in product and UI design.
If the Apple mobile phone and/or true video iPod don’t make an appearance at Macworld tomorrow, I’m betting that “just one more thing” from Jobs will be a premium universal remote control with some really cool features and a sexy design. He will have previously presented the iTV as shipping with the Apple Remote, and this new gadget will be available as a stand-alone purchase for something in the $100-250 range. If true, I only have one question: who wants to buy my Harmony 880?
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