Strange New World: Picks of the Week
Speculation is swirling over whether Apple will become a phone carrier.
Sept. 13, 2007 — -- We kick off a new fall tech season with a top pick that promises to be a legitimate replacement to the dreaded TV remote control: your tabletop. So-called surface computing is coming to your home.
Also, Apple appears poised to become not just a phone maker but a phone company. And finally, a couple of neat gadgets that put a whole new spin on mp3 players.
Here are our picks for the week.
Every year it seems one company or another unveils an "ultimate TV remote." Usually these are multibutton nightmares, strictly for geeks only. Well, this year's claim to the new remote crown might just be able to keep it on for a while.
Savant Systems has built a large, touch-screen controller right into a tabletop as part of its ROSIE line of home A/V equipment. We saw the table in a nice, black walnut-like finish, but most any color is possible. This means couch potatoes across the land can look forward to controlling all of their TVs, lights and gadgets right from their sofa-side coffee table via easy to read, absolutely ginormous visual icons. No more trying to poke those teeny, tiny remote buttons with one's big, beefy fingers.
Plus, no more lost remote. If you manage to lose this baby in the couch cushions, you have bigger problems than missing "Desperate Housewives."
If production ramps up and the price falls -- right now this ROSIE coffee table starts at a staggering $35,000 -- we could see tabletop remotes and controllers actually seeing a wider market. A simpler panel version could be developed to go on top of existing surfaces.
We can't wait. The sooner we get rid of that pile of remotes, the better.
Apple looks to be getting into the phones business. According to BusinessWeek, Apple Inc. might be planning a bid for a piece of the public airwaves in order to offer its own phone and data service. And we think the world is more than ready for Apple, the phone company.
Having its own network will let the company ditch AT&T when the next iPhone launches. And it will allow the company to offer connectivity as part of the package for customers who can no longer resist those cool ads. How sweet would it be if every Macbook, iMac and MacPro came with a built-in EVDO-type connection that let us all jump online anywhere?
