Home

Why smartphones may replace your remote control

09.06.10

Austin, Texas (CNN) -- Well, TV remote command, it was a very impressive 60-year run. But it may soon be time to say goodbye.

No more disoriented weekends between the couch cushions. No more swapping the order of your AA batteries to get a few more seconds of strength in order to click away from a blaring infomercial.

At least, that seems to be the calligraphy on the wall-sized HDTV.

The living room electronics convergence that was promised back in the belatedly '90s has finally started to materialize.

Our video pastime consoles download movies. Our set-top cable boxes can unfold our friends' Twitter feeds. DVD players and HDTVs themselves can glide Netflix movies and feed our home theaters' YouTube videos.

But the subdued remote control hasn't really kept up.

Universal remotes have not quite evolved in the last 20 years. Clunky, two-handed, apply-screen remotes were in vogue for a while (at least among those who could afford pricey especially installations). And Logitech made a tidy business with its superior Accord remotes, which downloaded devices' codes from the Internet and could put down practically any machine in your living room.

Source: CNN