As a recent battle-scarred victim of the Internet TV vs. Cable quagmire, it came to my immediate attention a serious void in comprehensive hardwares solutions for our increasingly connected TV-watching options. Between all the content options—digital cable, AppleTV, Hulu, Netflix streaming, Roku and the expanse of the Internet—making a decision about how to manage the bulk of remotes, keyboards, mice and peripherals can be a frustrating experience.
Today, Carbon Design Group announced an elegant solution for today’s TV. Toggle is an innovative remote using capacitative touch technologies without the expensive overhead of a touch screen. Points on the remote’s surface are mapped to specific keys and functions with four modes that can be personalized by individual users.
Explains Peter Bristol, Industrial Designer with Carbon:
The top half of Toggle includes a masked grid which reveals different interfaces when shifted into the different positions. Shifts are accomplished via sliding tracks in the four corners of the bottom half. Each mode is only a four millimeter shift from the home position.
The keyboard and touchpad are paired to make it easy to shift back-and-forth between text entry and navigation. The exposed graphics are backlit with side-firing LEDs for use in dim lighting.
The circuit board with the capacitive touch technology built-in is the main structure of the device. The batter is extremely thin, the radio is just a chip on the board, and the back surface is a rubber part so Toggle naturally lends itself to be light and extremely thin.
Check out the full video demo of Toggle, learn design insights on the product development from Peter Bristol and view more pics of the remote after the jump!
Post a Comment