GlideTV Intros Palm-Sized Navigator Remote for HTPCs

This is pretty cool, small and easy to use, there is definately a use for remotes of this nature.  I do agree with you Julie, for my use having more direct access buttons is the righttway to go.  While navigating through menus is a OK, it can get annoying when trying to find something fast.

In my system I of course use the On Scren Menu (OSM), but I do have direct access buttons programmed into my remote, some of which are menu flips as direct codes are not available.

I am a fan of simple remotes, but not as a 3rd party purchase, if they come from a manufacturer then there is a purpose, customers wanting more purchase 3rd party remotes.  Without looking at numbers I would say that most customers buy a 3rd party remote for more control and not less, however this remote does have a cool look factor to consider..

Would rather see it implemented as an element of a full-featured remote, which is what they’re probably aiming for.

I too must agree that its a pretty cool looking product. Personally I am a fan of simplicity over overly complex, button riddled remotes. If the UI is designed right, most direct buttons are unneeded. But I have yet to find a UI that was designed right. Especially for accessing the content outside of a pure MCE setup.
Its too early to pass any judgement yet on how easy it is going to be to use. However, being a long time aficionado of input devices for HTPC’s (logitech MX air, Dinovo Mini, Gyration, and numerous others), I will most likely give it a shot. A search across AVS forums did come up with this though: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17346885#post17346885, so it looks as if someone has gotten to play with it.

Will have to wait and see how it compares to things like the MX Air (Hillcrest) or Gyration; which when I used them only lead to frustration over the constant need for re-centering of the cursor as I seem to get out of sync when using them. In any case, getting rid of the bulky keyboard is a plus for me. Wife hates it. Dinovo Mini didn’t quite work either since it was a tweener sized device. Too small to touch type and too big to do comfortable thumb typing. Looking up and down all the type while typing on a TV isn’t the most comfortable thing either.

Anxious to see how it all plays out though.

I agree Peter, correctly designed UIs do not exist, while most of them are useful under certainconditions, they all fall short in some way..

As for having direct access, I too dislike button riddled remotes, one reson why I am fan of screen of some sort or even a touch screen.  If there was a proper OSM then using the simplistic remote will work for most people, but there are the large scrolling sessions in most UIs.  AppleTV for example gets to be a pain with a large library..

Bottom line though is what does the customer want, and seeing all customers are different and have to use the equipment eveyday we need products that are simplistic and complicated in order to satisfy everyone.  However, programmable remotes with changing or touchscreens are the ultimate in my book due to the fact that they can be simple or complicated.

“It is easy to make a complicated UI simple, but near impossible to make a simple UI complicated” - Dave Wright

Read the users guide on this one. For power Media Center users, it doesn’t seem to make sense. Apparently it requires two hands (function + another button) to get to the most popular features such as Live TV and Recorded TV. But again, the end game of GlideTV is as an OEM provider; this is just a concept. Presumably third-party manufacturers will develop something based on this platform that is more appropriate for WMC.

Julie, would have to agree with you that two button operation is not an optimal setup. Apparently they didn’t see this device as something intended for the hardcore MCE users out there. Seems to me that this was really targeted directly at those users who, like myself, who have moved away from MCE and onto things like Boxee and Hulu Desktop or just web video in general. I used to have a full blown hardcore SageTV setup with multiple tuners, but now it seems like I am using it less and less and Hulu Desktop and the web more and more. The challenge though is there is no good input device out there than addresses this transition. Perhaps this is a good start though.

Peter, I guess I’ll just have to try Hulu and Boxee. I tried Hulu desktop out of the gate and it was terrible, but will give it another go. Haven’t gotten around to Boxee…

I’ve never liked the Gyration devices and considered getting the DiNovo Mini but have concerns over it losing connection. I hate having this giant wireless keyboard/trackball combo on my couch so look forward to trying the GlideTV.