Home Theater View

Logitech MX Air Blends HT and PC

Logitech introduced a new "mouse" yesterday, and I put "mouse" in quotation marks because it's an interesting product that blends a PC mouse with a gyroscopic sensor (think Nintendo Wii's controller and you have the right idea) and software that can be used as a remote control for watching media content on a computer.

There have been products like this in the past, notably from Gyration (a company that got bought by Thomson in 2004). A bunch of years back when I was heading home theater research at JupiterResearch I wrote a report where I recommended their Media Center accessory line for inclusion with HTPC's which were just starting to ship. I'm still a big fan of Gyration's Gyrotransport, an ingenious product for the presentation market which combines a gyroscopic mouse, USB transmitter, and Flash storage (for your PPT deck) all in one compact package. However, the market for dedicated HTPCs has proven to be relatively small even as an overwhelming majority of consumers use their PCs for all sorts of media consumption. Logitech addresses the reality that computers are rarely used from 10 feet away on a couch, but that users do often switch between direct manipulation (the 2' experience) and a "lean-back" experience where they may not be right at the PC. Maybe they are on a couch, or just pushed back their chair a bit. The MX Air functions as a normal laser mouse when placed on a flat surface, and switches to air mouse mode when you pick it up.

Like Gyration's Media Center remote, Logitech's MX Air has all sorts of neat air gestures you can make to control volume, skip music tracks or jump to the next movie scene. This is cool and demos well, though hard buttons are at least as efficient. I got a chance to use the MX Air last month, and what I found most impressive is how easy and smooth in-air control is; Gyration uses a different technology, and Logitech's cursor control is easier to use. It also feels nice in the hand and is easy to control as a regular mouse on a desk; lefties may actually prefer it to most ergonomic mice which are clearly designed for right handed users.

What's not so impressive is the price: $149 for what is unquestionably a cool gadget, but one that is not exactly necessary. (Personally, if I was shopping for a premium mouse, I'd spend the money on Logitech's amazing $99 MX Revolution. That has no real added attraction for media viewing, but the scroll wheel shifts from free spin to ratched spin depending on which application you have open, which greatly improves productivity.)

-avi

Count 'em: *TWO* CEDIA Expos

CEDIA (the show) has been growing by leaps and bounds each year, so CEDIA (the organization) announced that they're adding a Spring show in Las Vegas. I do think that there is room for another targeted CE show in the first half of the year; CES has gotten way out of hand. CES is so big and so crowded that it's impossible for a small company's announcement to stand out and nearly impossible to navigate for attendees.

But CEDIA is scaling back expectations for the event, saying that,

“Feedback from CEDIA members indicates that there is strong support for a second show that draws from a more regional electronic systems contractor base,” said Ken Smith, president of CEDIA.

"Regional contractors" are considered an appropriate target because the traditional lifecycle of CE products has the announcement at Fall CEDIA or CES in January, with products hitting the market in late Summer/early Fall in time for the holiday sales season. This doesn't hold true for all products, of course, and is geared more towards the purchasing cycle of large retailers than indpendent A/V contractors - hence the focus on them for this show.

-avi

iFrenzy Over, Back to HTV!

My apologies to anyone frantically hitting "refresh" here at Home Theater View over the past couple of months - posting has been nonexistent as my "day job" covering mobile devices became a "24 hrs a day job" leading up to the iPhone launch.

-avi