Lately I’ve noticed a trend from laptop makers to include small remotes with their laptops, especially ones that are designed for multimedia, this is a great additional feature and something that should become a standard. My friend has a new laptop and it came standard with a tiny little remote that actually fits inside the newer smaller ExpresCard slot so it’s really small.
I have an older laptop that uses the standard PCMCIA slots and of course it didn’t come with a remote, sure I could buy a larger remote to carry along with it but that’s a pain when you’ve got a product available like the one I have today for review. The product is called the USB Media Remote, the name is kind of misleading, but it does use your USB interface so it works that way. The USB Media Remote is tiny, feature packed including a built-in laser pointer and it fits right inside of a free PCMCIA slot for storage and easy portability. So if you’re like me and the majority of laptop owners out there who didn’t get a remote with their laptop but want one then I can easily recommend this product, so read on to check it out…
Outel USB Media Remote
Author: Kristofer Brozio
Sponsor: USBGeek
Tech Specs,Features or the Basic Info:
Relax and enjoy the rich multi-media functions of your notebook computer with this full featured media remote control. Play music, watch DVDs, or flip through photos on your laptop from up to 30 feet away.
Features:
-Arrow, Enter, Back and Page keys to navigate Windows Media Center and give PowerPoint
presentations.
-Volume Controls to crank the volume up and down in any Windows Program. E.g. PowerPoint,
Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, Power DVD, Winamp…
-Media Controls to Play, Pause, Fast Forward and Rewind videos, DVD, live and recorded TV, even
music.
-Eliminate lost remotes by storing it inside your laptop (PCMCIA Slot), that way it is always available
when you need it.
-The remote protrudes slightly from the slot, making it easy to pull out and use.
-Support user custom key setting
-Support Windows Vista, XP, 2000, ME
-Powered by Lithium battery (CR2025)
-Frequency: 2.4GHz
-Range: Up to 30 feet
-Dimensions: 85.8 x 54.2 x 5.0mm
-Weight: 19g
Price: US$ 30.00
A Better Look at Things
:
The USB Media Remote comes in an easy open plastic clamshell package, you can see the remote itself and the two batteries through the front of the package. The back has basic specs and features listed as would be expected.
Included with the remote is a driver/software disc and two batteries, but only one is used with the remote itself, so it’s nice they gave us a spare battery.
I had to grin a bit when I saw the name ‘Outel’ it’s obviously a play on Intel, even the same style. The remote has the USB receiver built into it, it just pops out when it’s needed.
The top half of the remote has the non-multimedia functions including the button to activate the laser pointer. The laser pointer is a very cool addition since the remote is made to work with PowerPoint also, so you can do a presentation and have your pointer readily available if needed. There’s buttons for Page Up, Page Down, Help, Close, My Computer, Desktop, and Switch Tasks, these are of course the default settings and all buttons can be re-configured.
The bottom half of the remote is where the multimedia buttons are, which also double as buttons to be used for presentations, you’ll also find a button labeled ‘Link’ to be used if you need to re-link the remote to the receiver.
The USB Receiver is no bigger than a USB drive, and very thin, it easily pops in and out of the remote.
On the back of the remote we find the battery compartment, it slides out to allow you to install the battery.
Installation, Testing and Comparison
Installing the battery is very simple, slide out the drawer, put the battery in and slide it back in.
Storing the remote is easy as well, it locks into my PCMCIA slot and stays put so there’s no worry about it falling out and loosing it. In the following pictures you can also see the laser pointer itself.
The rest of the installation is very easy as well, pop the disc in, install the software and then put the USB dongle into your USB port and you’re ready to go. The remote and receiver were synced so there was no need to link them.
If you wish to configure the buttons you can, but the software is a bit difficult to use, but with some time it can be figured out.
There is a help section as well that does explain things somewhat, but as expected the English is a bit on the funky side.
One nice feature is that you can press the ‘Help’ button on the remote and a large on-screen picture of the remote will appear with the labels for each of the buttons in case you forget what they do.
I found no problems at all using the remote it easily controlled my laptop and did what I wanted it to do. The length of my living and dining room combined is about the 30 feet range of this remote, it worked fine with no problems at the full range.
The included laser pointer works as to be expected, it’s red and it points at things when you use it. Yes it’s a cool addition that can be of great convenience for those who need one, but me I used it to play with my cats and they loved it!
There’s not much more to say about this product, it does exactly what it’s supposed to do and does it well. It feels well made for what it is, considering it is very lightweight and very thin. Being thin though does make it a bit weird to use when every other remote out there is large and fat, but the buttons are laid out intelligently and in the right place for easy and quick reach.
Summary:
This is one of those products that I can easily recommend, it works great, is well made and does exactly what it’s supposed to do.
Depending on what you do the USB Media Remote can be a very handy product from just general multi-media to full blown professional presentations, this remote will allow you to control it all.
I really like the fact that it’s so small and fits into my PCMCIA slot for storage, it locks in tightly so you won’t have to worry about loosing it either.
DragonSteelMods gives the USB Media Remote a 4.5 out of 5 score and our Recommended Award as well.
Pros:
-Lightweight,portable
-Fits in PCMCIA slot for storage
-Long range
-Works great
-Well made
-Included laser pointer for presentations
-Configurable
-Extra battery included
-Easy to install and use
-Good value for price
Cons:
-Instructions could be better
I would like to thank USBGeek for the chance to review the USB Media Remote and for their continued support of DSM.
Discuss, Questions HERE
review# 381