Boxee Remote Control Pricing Leak
I know Mikinho is ecstatic to hear about this. Ever since the first images of this remote he and many others have been clammoring to get the remote alone to integrate with their own HTPC. For $40, it can be done…maybe. If it’s true, considering the Logitech Dinovo Mini runs at $90-100, this is a pretty sweet deal.
The Boxee remote is identical to the one shipped with the Boxee Box, meaning that it will use RF instead of infrared technology and feature a two-sided design with a full QUERTY keyboard. The remote control will come with a RF USB dongle that is likely familiar to people who use dongles to link their PC to a wireless keyboard. It will work with both stand-alone PCs as well as home theater PCs (HTPCs) used to bring Boxee to the TV screen.
Boxee Remote Not All It Is Cracked Up To Be
Trust me, this is a remote you can pass on for several reasons (I have one):
– Keyboard is not backlit and colors for letters are a washed out gray color. What this means, the remote is absolutely useless in a dim or dark setting
– The Alt key (which you press down to type in numbers) is only on the left side, which makes it very awkward to hold down and press a number like 1 which is also on the left side
– Not Boxee’s fault but annoying that when you are using the remote on the “control” side and go to flip over to the keyboard, depending on the natural way you flip over the keyboard will be up side down in your hand
Really, the biggest issue is it is not backlit, so I would not even bother with until this is added
I still think Mikinho’s going
I still think Mikinho’s going to want one 😛
But that being said, pretty disappointing about the backlit, but i can understand why they opted against it given that the front buttons are so few. Is there at least the button on the keyboard like on a regular keyboard?
Funny enough, the pic you
Funny enough, the pic you posted of the keyboard is actually different then what I received. On my remote the numbers are lined about along the top keys (starting from 0 on the far left across the top keys). I was also reading the Engadget review just posted and they echoed some of the same comments. It could be a great HTPC remote. Too often you end up flipping it around t he wrong way so the keyboard is upside down. I actually think going with more of a slider keyboard would make more sense. However, once typing it was very easy to use the Keyboard on the remote.
The Boxee folks have acknowledged some of the deficiencies with the remote, so possibly you may see them addressed before selling as a stand alone.
Buzzkill :[
Buzzkill :[
Thanks for your impressions
Thanks for your impressions Damian, much appreciated.
For the price I may still pick one up.