(Credit:
GlideTV)
With the exception of Netflix and YouTube, many online video providers aren't natively available on set-top boxes or game consoles--Hulu being the most notable example. That's led many online video junkies to go with the most direct workaround: connecting their PCs directly to their big-screen TVs. Generally, it works like a charm--but requires a big keyboard and mouse to sit on the coffee table for navigation duties.
It's that niche--the living room input device--that the new GlideTV Navigator is designed to fill. The wireless pointing device is a disembodied touch pad flanked by a handful of backlit buttons, including volume and playback controls, as well as dedicated Enter, Back, and Escape keys. The $149 package includes a charging cradle and a USB receiver. While the Navigator is compatible with Windows PCs, Macs, and the PS3, GlideTV's onscreen keyboard application will only be available for Windows.
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GlideTV)
According to GlideTV, the Navigator is designed to offer an ergonomic alternative to navigating such mediacentric applications as "Windows Media Center, Apple iTunes, Boxee, Apple Front Row, SageTV, Firefox, and any Web browser." We'll be reviewing it later this month, at which time we hope to compare it with other alternative input devices, such as gyroscopic mice and the Logitech diNovo Mini Keyboard.
Personally, I'm completely happy with my USB keyboard and optical mouse. But if you're a fan of alternative input devices, such as the PaperShow, you now have another choice.
Hitachi Software announced Tuesday its new StarBoard WT-1 interactive wireless tablet. Basically, it's a mouse and keyboard replacement that lets presenters in educational facilities and corporate environments interact with their audiences.
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Hitachi)
The device has a range up to 30 feet thanks to RF wireless technology, and a battery life of up to 16 hours of continuous use. This seems nice as the PaperShow offer only a few hours of continuous usage, possibly because it uses Bluetooth.
Other than offering regular functionality as a input device, the WT-1 also includes 16 shortcut function keys, handwriting recognition, search engine integration, and a small built-in LCD indicator screen. It comes with an interactive pen with two programmable buttons that you can use to, for example, move back and forth between slides.
However, the feature I find most unique is that you can use up to seven WT-1 units to a PC. This makes the device well-suited for presentations hosted by a group of people.
The StarBoard WT-1 weighs around a pound and measures 10.9 inches by 11.1 inches by 0.8 inches with a writing resolution of 2000 lpi. It will be available sometime next month. Right now it's unclear how much it costs.
It's been about five years since Wacom launched its Intuos3 tablet line. That's an awfully long time in computer years; then again, Wacom has little in the way of competition for a tiny slice of the pro graphics input device pie. And it's nice to have some products that you don't have to constantly worry about upgrading to the Next New Thing.
Still, it looks like Wacom has spent its time well, because the new Intuos4 tablet line was worth the wait. With a sophisticated design and cleverly engineered new controls, the Intuos4 is both a pleasure to use and to look at.
Read my review of the Wacom Intuos4 (watch for it on 3/25).
I wrote this on the specialized paper included with the kit, and PaperShow captured it digitally.
(Credit: Dong Ngo/CBS Interactive)If you are a frequent presenter and are tired of the mouse and keyboard, your presentations could be significantly enhanced by this new alternative input device.
It's called the PaperShow, a product announced last Monday by Canson, a French company. The kit include a specialized Bluetooth pen, special paper, and a USB Bluetooth adapter. Basically, the kit allows you to write, scribble, sketch, etc. on the paper by hand and also digitally at the same time.
I tried the kit for a few days and found it work as intended and was quite fun. It's rather expensive, however, and you definitely need to make sure you're comfortable using Bluetooth devices before purchasing. Also note that the special paper works like normal paper: what you write and draw on it will stay there, and therefore the paper necessitates additional expense down the line.
You can read more about the PaperShow kit in a review here.
This is what was scribbled on the special notebook.
(Credit: Dong Ngo/CBS Interactive)
You might balk at the $130 price tag, but this time more actually means better. The Logitech Cordless Desktop Wave Pro combo puts two of our favorite products together in one package: the Logitech Cordless Desktop Wave Keyboard and the Logitech MX 1100 Cordless laser mouse.
Both products received very high marks from their respective editors, and the MX1100 mouse even managed to win an Editors' Choice award. This time around, we're sticking to our guns and rewarding this winning combo as well.
One of the most significant hardware changes in the bundle that we don't speak much of in the review is the mouse's rechargeable battery. In our separate review of the MX1100, we weren't very happy to see that it used alkaline batteries for juice. We cut it some slack since it meant one less power adapter to throw into our mountain of cords, but Logitech really came through this time and includes a rechargeable battery with the system.
Logitech advertises two months of power per charge, and although we don't have the time or the resources to perform a drain test, we used the device for a full week and kept it on 24 hours a day and barely saw the drain indicator move. In our opinion, that's worth the bimonthly mouse charging.
Read the full review of the Logitech Cordless Desktop Wave Pro.
Bamboo Fun
(Credit: Wacom Technology)In technology circles, hitting the quarter-century mark makes you positively ancient. That may be the impetus behind Wacom's decision to update its logo at the same time as it jettisons the Graphire brand for consumer pen tablets, redesigning and rechristening them with the trendier moniker "Bamboo."
Two models launch the series. The Bamboo Fun--doesn't it cry out for an exclamation point?--targets the popular growth segment of project-oriented imaging enthusiasts largely defined by scrapbookers. It comes in two sizes and four colors--black, white, silver, and an electric blue--and features big, friendly looking programmable buttons and a touch ring for zooming and scrolling. The Fun comes with the typical Wacom bundle of imaging apps: Adobe Photoshop Elements 5/4 (PC/Mac), Nik Color Efex Pro 2 filters, and Corel Painter Essentials 3.
Wacom Bamboo
(Credit: Wacom Technology)Wacom's biz-oriented Bamboo lacks the Fun in more ways than one. It's targeted at users who want to take advantage of the enhanced ink capabilities in Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 for tasks like digital signatures, annotation and markup. The Fun-less Bamboo comes in one size (small), one color (basic black) and sans bundled apps.
Both tablets are slated to ship this month. The Bamboo Fun will cost $99.99 (small) and $199.99 (medium), while the Bamboo will run $79.99.
Bamboo. It's not just for Pandas anymore.
It's an enticing idea: replace your keyboard with a stylus and tap your screen--or write all over it--to get things done.
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NAVIsis)
That's the basic premise behind tablet PCs, and while they haven't fully caught on yet, the NAVIsis Laptop Tablet lets you give the tablet user interface a go without having to splurge on a brand-new tablet PC.
The NAVIsis Laptop Tablet is a $130 USB device that clips onto the side of your laptop screen and lets you tap, write, and draw on the display to your heart's content.
Sure, $130 is far from free, but it's an intriguing alternative to current laptop input devices: the jumpy laptop touchpad, the bulky travel mouse, or the effective but underused keyboard nub.
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