Date:28/09/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/09/28/stories/2008092859901300.htm
Front Page A 'remote' keyboard for the PC-TV Anand Parthasarathy diNovo Mini combines the functions of keyboard, mouse and remote -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It is a featherweight at 650 gm Rechargeable lithium batteries are rated to work for one month between charges -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Photo: Anand Parthasarathy REMOTE KEYBOARD: Logitech's diNovo Mini, combines the functions of a PC keyboard and a TV remote. Bangalore: There was a time when the separate worlds of the personal computer and the television set gave rise to two modes of usage. There was the 'lean back' style of typical TV viewing, where one sat back comfortably on a sofa, a few metres away from the screen, 'remote' in hand. The other was the 'lean forward' style of the PC user, hunched over keyboard and mouse, up close to the monitor. All that is changing, as a new category is born: users of wall-mountable large screen PCs, or TVs which also include an Internet connection. They want to have the best of both worlds, enjoying the multiple TV channels that their cable or satellite dish provider offers; and switching at will, to surfing the Internet or checking their mail - sometimes splitting the screen to do both at the same time! This is great - but there is a small hassle: You need a 'remote' to do your TV channel surfing; and a keyboard-mouse combo, to access the PC and Web browser features. Things can get quite messy, especially if your PC peripheral devices are not wireless. Out of this pain, is born a device like Logitech's diNovo Mini, a clever, palm-sized tool, that neatly combines the functions of keyboard, mouse and remote. The diNovo is a featherweight at 650 gm. and is only slightly larger than one of those old-fashioned spectacle cases. Even as you flip the lid open, the orange back lighting kicks in. This indicates that it is ready to use like a standard PC keyboard, complete with full QWERTY key pad. The mouse pad is similar to what you would find on a notebook PC. Flip a slide switch from PC to TV mode and the back lighting changes to green, highlighting the portions of the keyboard that perform the functions you would find with a TV or media player remote. The touch pad of the PC avatar, now morphs into a directional pad in its TV role: you can use it to move in four directions to make on-screen menu selections. To wirelessly link the diNovo to the PC-TV, the makers harness Bluetooth and provide a suitable 'dongle' - a USB-type plug-in that you insert in a suitable slot in the PC or TV. Its range is about 8-10 metres and the rechargeable lithium batteries in the diNovo are rated to work for one month between charges. The device costs Rs. 9,495 from Logitech's national distributors, Rashi Peripherals - which works out about double what you would pay for Logitech's own cordless standard PC mouse-keyboard set. Not cheap - but when you launch into a new customer category that merges lean back functions into lean forward, you have to pay for the privilege of being a pioneer! To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
