遥控器革命初现端倪

    随着越来越多的新产品进入卧室——如VCR、DVR、DVD、蓝光播放器、游戏机等等，茶几上出现了设备之间互相“打架”的局面，因为每个新设备都配有自己的遥控器。虽然后来出现了旨在“一统江山”的万能遥控器，但它用起来还是不如各厂商自带的遥控器那样简便。

    厂商也没有足够的动力来关注这个问题。“中低端电视的销量对利润非常敏感，因此，许多厂商放弃了营造全盘体验的想法，转而把重点放在了降低生产成本上，主要把投资用于改善画质。”创新与战略咨询公司ReD Associates的合伙人李俊（音译）表示：“他们把普通遥控器的生产价格压低到1美元，把‘高档’遥控器的价格控制在3到5美元，不过他们也知道，遥控器已经不再是连接消费者与电视观看体验之间的主要纽带了。”

    有线运营商和电视生产厂家的业务与生产遥控器的业务有着重大的区别。对于有线运营商和电视厂家来说，遥控器往往只是个附属品。而罗技科技（Logitech）则是一家在生产个人周边产品方面拥有30年经验的公司，它设计的产品年年都会获得设计大奖。该公司产品研究部主任凯文•西蒙表示：“每周都有客户走进我们的办公室，但他们往往要么不知道自己到底想要的是什么，要么不知道自己的痛点到底是什么。”作为研发流程的一部分，罗技科技会进行一系列的实验室研究、民族研究和传统调查。甚至连罗技科技在市场上推出的一款名叫Harmony Link的遥控器，也能通过众包的方式有效地收集人们的实时行为，保证软件的每次更新都能辐射到各地的Harmony Link用户。

    遥控器的发展可能正面临着转折。最近有两种非传统的遥控器为消费者提供了更好的遥控功能，让人们燃起了用手势或语音进行遥控的希望。首先是微软的Xbox遥控器Kinect，它同时支持语音和手势输入，而不需要用户手持设备。其次是安装在苹果iPhone 4S上的Siri，它可以识别语音指令，Siri推出后短短几个月的时间，就帮助苹果公司狂吸463.3亿美元（截止至2011年底）。如果将来我们回溯历史的话，就会发现，Siri已经不可逆转地改变了消费者的预期和行为。李俊表示：“苹果统一了iPhone上的产品和服务。它有可能会在电视上也采取类似的做法。”

    与此同时，三星也推出了自家的智能互动技术，它集合了面部识别、手势和语音控制功能，旨在为消费者提供更多与电视进行互动的选择。尽管三星仍然为旗下的电视机同时配备了智能触摸遥控器（the Smart Touch Remote）以及传统的摇控器，但三星的语音和手势遥控显然已经超越了前辈。

    不过语音、手势和触摸遥控技术的诞生真的能给消费者更大控制权吗？卡耐基梅隆大学（Carnegie Mellon University）的博士生克里斯•哈里森说：“人们甚至根本不用拿起摇控器，只要坐在卧室里打个响指，就好比按一下Siri的开关。随后，电脑就会自动搜索你伸出的是哪只手，这只手就是遥控器。然后，人们可以输入“52频道”，或是让它播放DVR上最喜欢的五个电视节目，然后点击播放键。这种操控方式已经脱离了传统遥控器的范畴。整个房间都是互动的。这才是真正让人兴奋的地方。”

    With the introduction of new services to the living room -- VCRs, DVRs, DVD and Blu-ray players, game consoles -- device infraction emerged on the coffee table because each new box pack its own remote. And while universal remotes intended to unite the confounding multiple experiences, it was often a less usable version of simple versions from manufacturers.

    And there wasn't much incentive to focus on the problem. "Mid- and low-end TV sales are very sensitive to margins, and so many manufacturers effectively gave up trying to own the entire experience and focused on lowering manufacturing cost and on investing in picture quality," says Jun Lee, a partner at ReD Associates, an innovation and strategy consultancy, "They reduced the price of remote control manufacturing to $1 for the average remote to $3-5 for a 'premium' remote, but they also knew the remote was no longer a primary point of contact between their customers and the TV viewing experience."

    There is a chief difference, however, between cable or TV manufacturers (where remote controls are often an afterthought) and the business of making remote controls. Take Logitech (LOGI), who for 30 years has been making personal peripherals. These devices win design awards year after year. "We have customers come in to our office on a weekly basis, says Kevin Simon, director of Product Research. "People often don't know what they want or what their pain points are." As part of their process, they do a combination of lab studies at their headquarters, ethnographic studies, and traditional surveys. Even the Harmony Link, one of their remotes on the market, effectively crowdsources live behaviors so that each new addition becomes available for Harmony Link users everywhere.

    Things could be turning around. Two non-traditional remotes have recently put better control in front of consumers, effectively raising expectations for gesture and voice. First the Kinect, a Microsoft (MSFT) Xbox remote that supports both voice and gesture input without a device at all. Apple's (AAPL) Siri, which shipped with the iPhone 4S, recognizes voice commands, and helped result in $46.33 billion in revenue by the end of 2011 just a few months after it was introduced. And if history is any evidence, Siri has already changed consumer expectations and behavior irreversibly. "Apple unified service and product on the iPhone. It may try to make a similar move on TV," says Lee.

    Meantime, Samsung introduced its Smart Interaction technology with face recognition, gesture, and voice control, intended to provide choice for how consumers interact with their TV. And while Samsung still supplies the Smart Touch Remote and traditional remote in the box, the way consumers can interact with them clearly tips a hat to what its voice and gestural predecessors have done well.

    But is the advent of voice, gesture, and touch really more control for consumers in a remote? "You don't even have to pick up a remote control," says Chris Harrison, a PhD student at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), "You're sitting in your living room and snap your fingers. It's like clicking the button for Siri. The computer looks for whatever hand is being held out—that is your remote control. Then you type 'Channel 52' or the top five shows you love watching on your DVR and click play. It's getting away from the paradigm of a remote control. Your whole room is interactive. That's what's really exciting."