Sony’s 2014 Televisions to Include “One-flick” Touchpad Remote

Sony 2014 One-flick Remote

Let’s be honest; most remotes that ship with products, minus what TiVo includes with their DVRs, tends to be crap. At best, it’s ugly and at worst, it’s both ugly and clunky. To that end, products like the Harmony remote exist which tend to give a sleeker look and better overall functionality, perfect for those of us who own a multitude of home theater products. Now, Sony is throwing a bit of a wrench in this with their new One-flick remote which will be standard across their entire 2014 line of televisions.

Available with their 4K and HD models of televisions, the Sony One-flick remote ditches IR and opts for Bluetooth technology. This means that you no longer have to point your remote squarely at the television to get the command you want. Pairing is also easy with NFC which means you’re just one click away from making it all work together. The real magic of the device however is the touchpad which allows you to easily navigate the screen and jump between different apps available.

This means that the only physical buttons on the remote are:

  • Volume up/down
  • Channel up/down
  • Return
  • Home
  • Options
  • Power

Beyond that, all functionality is delegated to onscreen navigation which Sony believes will be far smoother. Sony is also making ‘quick start‘ another hallmark of their 2014 fleet of televisions which allows for a startup time of under 2 seconds.

Discuss:

Do you see yourself using such a remote or do you think you’ll soon be back to your universal remote of choice?