Will ‘Magic Wands’ replace traditional remote control?

Without even mentioning Harry Potter, wand remote controls used to be the stuff of fantasy. Not any more. Whether or not you think it’s a gimmick, you cannot deny their appeal. Already proving popular, the Kymera Wand flew off the shelves at Christmas. This £50 magic wand remote control was created by two British inventors and is set to meet its sales target of 200,000 by the end of 2010.

The Kymera Wand can control infra-red controlled gadgets and gizmos using up to 13 personally programmed gestures. From your laptop to your DVD player and even your iPod dock, you can flick, twist and glide through all your gadgets’ functions without the press of a button, which is something of a novelty.

And now magic wands are popping up faster than you can say ‘Abracadabra’. Sony has announced the launch of a PS3 motion-sensor controller, due for release Spring 2010. Similar to Nintendo’s Wii controller, the Wiimote, and the Wii’s Motion Plus, Sony’s wand-shaped remote is tracked by the Playstation’s Eye cam. Sony also claim that it will be able to track correspondence between screen and game to under a millimetre making virtual gaming a lot more responsive with the magic wand technology.

In addition, LG has manufactured a wand remote controlled with a ‘magic’ user interface. Announced at this year’s CES, it’s a motion-sensitive remote control that will be offered alongside its new TVs this year. LG’s remote responds to rotating motions to turn the volume up and down and a flicking motion to change the channels. While this is a welcomed change from the boring button-controlled remote, magic wands have limitations too. It appears LG doesn’t have complete confidence in the remote’s motion-sensitive abilities, however: four buttons also feature on the remote for volume, channel changing, mute and home/select button. While the buttons are not a dominant feature, their presence suggests users may give up on flicks and twists for an old fashioned press of a button.

Will wand remote controls make controlling your gadgets magical? All I know is – buttons require the muscle capacity of my thumb, whereas a Magic Wand, well, a ‘flick’ might involve a whole arm movement and even a degree of finesse. Magic Wands? Intriguing. Yes. Practical. Not sure.