Samsung Electronics announced on Jan. 1 the release of its 2014 Samsung Smart Control, the updated version of its Smart TV remote control featuring faster and more accurate control features, better content selection, and an improved design. The new Smart Control was unveiled at CES 2014 in Las Vegas.
The 2014 Samsung Smart Control combines gesture-recognition with a new button console and touch pad to provide frequent internet video users with more accurate content selection and faster focus movement.
On the Movie/Drama/App menu listing on the Smart TV screen, users can easily shift between menu items via gestures. Users can also select and access their content more accurately by using four directional buttons. When using the Samsung Smart Hub panels or accessing content listings spanning multiple pages, users can use the remote’s touchpad to flip from page to page with a similar motion as turning the pages of a book.
The 2014 Smart Control also includes voice interaction functionality, enabling users to find web or video content quickly and conveniently using natural language. Users can speak directly at the remote to navigate immediately to their desired content.
Samsung has also evolved the remote’s design from the industry’s traditional flat rectangular shape to an elongated pebble-like oval design that fits more naturally in the user’s hand. A circular touch pad including the directional buttons is located on the center of the remote, naturally reachable with the user’s thumb when gripping the device. This new ergonomic design minimizes the need for hand movements while encouraging users to use gesture and voice recognition to control their Smart TV.
Samsung Electronics’ booth at CES 2014 features a wide range of the latest
TVs and other home appliance gadgets, including ultra high definition TVs.
(photos: Samsung Electronics)
The touchpad on the new remote is also over 80 percent smaller than in the 2013 version and has been designed for easier use, including short-cuts to frequently used functions.
The 2014 Smart Control also conveniently includes separate buttons for “Multi-Link Screen,” a function enabling users to watch multiple contents simultaneously on a single screen, as well as “Soccer Mode,” which allows viewers to optimize viewing for soccer programs with a single button. The new remote also brings up the virtual remote keyboard more easily and quickly.
The TV remote has continually evolved since its invention, starting as a wired device when first introduced in the 1950s and then shifting to wireless, LCD, and QWERTY formats, and finally to touch and wheel control. It has also gone through a variety of designs, from classic rectangular to more modern ergonomic curved shapes.
“As more and more functions are added to TVs, the remote control is also evolving to accommodate the added functions,” said Park Kwang-ki, executive vice president, Visual Display Sales and Marketing at Samsung Electronics. “We will continue to work so that our customers can use our remote control more intuitively and easily.”
