14 DAY TRIAL // The PlayStation3 might be Sony's biggest hope for its future in the gaming industry, but it still lacks quite a few things, the most important being third-party peripherals. However, it seems that a few companies are willing to change that, one of said manufacturers being Nyko, who has launched only a few days ago the BluWave, an infrared remote that allows users to control quite a lot of the multimedia functions provided by Sony's next-generation gaming console.
According to the company, the device has been designed exclusively for the PlayStation 3 and allows users to easily control the playback of Blu-Ray movies, DVDs and CDs on the PlayStation 3 console. Thus, it provides navigation features for system and movie menus, allows users to skip chapters or tracks, pause and play a movie or music and replicate other PlayStation 3 controller functionality.
The BluWave "employs" the services of IR technology in order to control the functions of the PS3. The device comes packed with a compact USB IR receiver that plugs into any open USB port for easy set up requiring no complicate software, pairing or programming. Moreover, it features polyurethane coated buttons, which provide an increased level of comfort and durability during use.
The device from Nyko is powered by 2 AA batteries and provides an overall functioning range of around 7.62 meters. The people from Nyko are pretty proud about their device, as Chris Arbogast, marketing manager at Nyko Technologies, stated that "the BluWave demonstrates Nyko's continued commitment to provide gamers with accessories that accentuate and enhance the feature set of all of today's next-gen consoles".
The device from Nyko retails for around 20 US dollars, which is just $5 below the price tag of Sony's own Bluetooth remote for the PS3. However, it's rather questionable whether users should actually go for Nyko's solution, as the IR technology is rapidly going obsolete and the price difference is not that important in order to justify such a purchase.
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