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Unfortunately for them, it’s a terrible, nonsensical idea
Some applied science make so much sensation that they just wo n’t vanish . T9 — the honest-to-god text comment from our trustworthy Nokia phones from the 1990s — is one of those reversion . way 9is a startup that is eager to introduce it to your television , so you could use the directional stamp pad on your remote to get in text . Theyshowed it off at CES , and … I ’d be exceedingly surprised if it ever pass water much headway .
“ Entering text on your phone is knockout . You have to look at your telephone , two feet away , and then look at your television , 10 feet aside . You have to focalise up and down , and you ca n’t do blind typing , ” explains Leon Chang , founder at Direction 9 .
The fellowship has built a prototype and added it to an Android Seth - top boxwood . His visual modality for the society is to certify the engineering to “ Roku or Netflix , or Apple or Samsung , recollect a company like that . Any kind of TV pullulate society . ”
I originally took a picture of the booth to divvy up it with the rest of the TechCrunch CES team , with the subtitle “ LOL , looks like T9 is making a replication , ” but I felt spoilt ; sure , there had to be something I was missing ? lamentably , the founder was n’t able to make a real casing for why their founding ought to exist .
“ The vogue is to take the people back to their family room . And [ our technology ] is easy to explore or to input . There is no other solution : If you have to look for for a movie or a TV show , or if you have to enter a password , this is the best solution . Nobody else could offer anything flying , smarter , easier , ” Chang state confidently . “ We provide them with all the API and source computer code for the UI and machine codification . ”
Except peopledooffer solution that are easy . Anyone who has try out to set up Netflix recently has clear that most screens use a “ access on your laptop computer and enter a computer code to access on your tv set ” type solution , a QR code or another way to quickly access on your twist . On Apple devices , you may habituate the keyboard on your sound to enrol parole and logins , and on almost every modernistic set - top box , voice is an refined solvent for searching for the tv evince you desire .
On top of all of that , any half - competent engine driver could implement a version of T9 for a set - top box in an good afternoon . It ’s not novel technology , nor is it rocket scientific discipline . I ’d be supremely surprised if Apple or Samsung came knocking to license this technology — specially at the Leontyne Price the company is hoping to charge .
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“ Our business mannequin depends on who the company is , but we plan to bill $ 3 or $ 1 or $ 0.50 for every remote they ship , ” Chang aver . In a world where you may buy a Roku Express for under $ 40 , I doubt it costs manufacturers more than $ 5 or so to produce a remote control at scale . It seems unlikely that they ’d be uncoerced to add 20 - 50 % to its cost just to add together a new school text input as a feature .
Look , I do n’t want to be a jolt to the Direction 9 team , but after80 or so pitch deck teardowns , I ’ve grown a salubrious amount of mental rejection regarding the inauguration I meet — and this one simply does n’t hold urine . Of of course , I ’ve been known to be wrong before , but I ’d be very surprised if this caller were able-bodied to find customers or investors .
