GADGET GURU
T3’s switched-on tech loon puts his ‘sort stuff’ channel on again
Guiding human evolution went well until the batteries ran out
ILLUSTRATIONS: STEPHEN KELLY
Q CLEO VINCENT, LONDON
Do I have to stick with my TV’s remote?
A
This would once have been an excuse for Guru to espouse about Logitech’s masterful Harmony range of third-party clickers, but they’ve met their end – possibly because TV remotes are generally pretty solid these days, or perhaps because of the slow deprecation of infra-red.
Not that others haven’t stepped up to claim the crown that Harmony left vacant. SofaBaton, for example – GaGu loves the descriptive name – sells its X1 universal remote kit for about £230. It includes a beamer that sits in the middle of the room, allowing it to selectively control all manner of devices, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, which offers it control over more than the average remote. If you want something slightly more Harmonyesque, the SofaBaton U2 (£70) looks and acts suspiciously like the Harmony Elite once did. Not that Guru is making any accusations.
You might consider something like the Fire TV Cube, which could allow you to do away with your remote entirely
Industry veteran OneForAll is still loitering in the shadows too, putting out a whole bunch of replacement remotes, universal remotes, and some which can vastly simplify the number of controls – perfect for helping the elderly or, in GaGu’s case, the very drunk to operate even the most technologically extravagant telly.