I've written here before about how, increasingly, remote controls need to be considered media platforms in their own right rather than mere appendages to other devices. The wonderfully intuitive TiVo remote is one example and Nintendo's Wii remote is another (the Comcast DVR remote is IMHO a frustrating counter-example).
Pictured to the right is the Freespace™ from Hillcrest Labs. The Washington Post Thursday carried a story about how Hillcrest had filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission and a suit against Nintendo in U.S. District Court for patent infringement. The gadget blog, Gizmodo, had more details, and earlier had a very positive review about Hillcrest's loop-shaped remote control which characterized it as better than the Wii.
I don't know anything about the merits of this complaint, but think there's a bunch of room for innovation in this space. Now, if they can just get Comcast to license them. --Dennis
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