More info on Colour Pronto

["Mark McCall" <mark@xxxxxxx>]

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http://www.remotecentral.com/whatsnew.htm#091200
Here's more on the from Remote Central on the Pronto Pro

The new color remote control coming out next year from Philips will be
known
as the ProntoPro - a name familiar to readers of this forum thread. The new
model, as shown at CEDIA in prototype form, will be physically larger than
the current TS-1000 and TSU2000 form factor, with a new advanced design. As
with the recently announced Pronto TSU2000 (see below for new information),
it will be silver in color. The bottom of the remote will feature four
buttons instead of the current two, while the side volume and channel
buttons have been restyled into a toggle-shaped design that is much more
ergonomic. It will include at least 4 megabytes of memory, although the PC
communications port is still only scheduled as RS232 serial. Since
transferring 4 megabytes of data through a serial port will probably take
10
to 15 minutes, I hope they strongly consider adding a USB option. The new
color LCD screen will support a high 240x320 resolution (as does the
current
monochrome model) with 256 colors, although users will "only" be
able to use
a 216 color "web safe" palette.

Since the original Pronto's CPU and display controller only supported a
2-bit color palette, the entire operating system has been rewritten for a
new hardware architecture. As such, the time was right to change the user
interface into a more intuitive and graphically pleasing design. However,
early reports indicate that the user-editable portion of the screen may not
be much larger than the current area of 240x219 pixels. Speed reports from
the show floor indicate that the remote is quite fast when changing panels.

As on the new TSU2000, the ProntoPro will make use of a pre-programmed
database of codes to help make first-time setup easier. The new model will
also include a basestation and rechargeable NiMH battery by default; no
option is provided for "standard" batteries. The battery life of
the current
prototype is rated at 2-3 weeks per charge. An RF feature is still in the
planning stage and may not be incorporated, though some folks at Philips do
feel it is an important addition. Finally, as a professional touch, the new
color Pronto will use a pick-up motion sensor that - like the RTI
TheaterTouch - will activate the screen whenever the remote's physical
position is changed.

Since the ProntoPro is slated for release in the first quarter of 2001,
plenty of development time is still available. As such, the details
contained in this update are subject to change.

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