It looks like innovations really is taking all sorts of shapes when it comes to the consumer electronics market, having perhaps assumed its most unusual approach in the hands of pay-TV company DirecTV.
There are many things that remote controls can do, especially universal ones that can manage not just a TV, set-top box or multimedia player, but all of them at once.
Many consumer households have started to use this sort of universal remote, and it looks like DirecTV wants to branch out more.
Case in point, its most recent press release outlines its plan to upgrade its HD TV offer in hotels, and this implies more than just the broadcast service itself.
While the number of over 100 channels is definitely something to pay mind to, the real central point of the announcement is the remote control.
Apparently, the product it came up with is not just any universal remote control, but one that is germ-resistant, sanitized as it were.
Later this summer is when the availability is scheduled to ramp up, and while there is no mention of consumer plans for the product, there is nothing to stop DirecTV from selling this remote to regular users.
"We understand consumers want the same programming diversity and ease-of-use they have at home while they're travelling, and DIRECTV's Residential Experience for Hotels will deliver those same features and benefits right into the hotel room,"
said Rod Keller, vice president of Commercial Sales for DIRECTV.
"With approximately 20 percent of hotels currently offering HD service to their guests, we expect this new service to significantly expand the HD offering in this market with the added benefit of a sanitized remote."
As one has already guessed, the Residential Experience for Hotels, as the project is called, is the first one to feature an actual germ-slaying remote control.
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