One For All Kameleon 8 March 20th, 2006 | by Vince Veneziani

Features and Design

When inactive, the Kameleon remote sits on your table as a mysterious blue device. When you pick it up, it automatically turns on. Immediately, bright, crisp controls pop up and the selected device will be animated. You're then free to use the remote. When you're done, just place it on a flat surface, wait a second, and the remote turns off. This feature is not only great for party tricks, but helps conserve the 4 AAA batteries needed to power it.

How long do the AAA batteries last? It depends on how you use the Kameleon remote. The above-mentioned feature can be turned off so that the remote doesn't turn on until pressed, or it can be on all the time. If you decide to use the motion-sensing feature, take care of the remote by putting it on a side table. Putting the remote on your sofa, where it will turn on every time you plop down to watch TV, is a bad idea. However, if you use this remote carefully, you'll find yourself getting over a month of use from the batteries.

The buttons for the selected devices can be changed around to your liking. For instance, if you select the Cable Box option, the remote displays a setup very similar to that of the remote given to me by my cable company, Comcast. Comcast offers On-Demand programming that allows me to pause and rewind films and shows—and Kameleon knows this. By pressing a little button marked PVR VOD, a set of playback controls magically appears. There are even programmable macro buttons.

Kameleon also helps you use devices together. When watching a DVD, I use my home theater setup to get a great sound experience. However, sometimes the sound is too loud in certain parts and I'll want to turn it down. I can use this one remote to pause the DVD, switch to my stereo receiver, and turn down the volume. Kameleon even lets you control surround sound with a unique button that lets you adjust each individual speaker. Very cool.

One drawback with the Kameleon, however, is the lack of an “Eject” button. Having to get up and manually eject CDs and DVDs can be a pain. However, since the Kameleon otherwise enables me to never have to get up, I view it only as a minor infraction. Perhaps this is Kameleon's way of saying we should get outside for an hour and take a walk.