Kameleon 8 Universal Remote

The universal remote has created a niche for itself in India, which means more choices for us. Just today we received a universal remote from the internationally popular brand "One for All", owned by Universal Electronics. The model is from their famed Kameleon series, and can control up to eight devices. It appears to stand apart from the rest, so let's check out the gizmo...

Form Factor
Even at first glance the Kameleon impresses as a sleek, good-looking device. The body has a brushed aluminum finish with a touch of reflectivity, while the flat front panel sports two rectangular screens and a black bezel. The central black strip separating the two screens has small white buttons for basic functions such as volume and navigation. The bottom strip has a horizontal row of four thin buttons, each of a different color (red, green, yellow and blue).

The Kameleon's rear is asymmetrically contoured, with a bump measuring about 1.5 cm in radius. This assists in getting a decent grip, though the surface is so smooth that it can slip off and fall down if you're careless. The logo is printed below, and is not too loud. The remote works on 4 AAA batteries.

The screen uses electroluminescent technology, which means it lights up when you touch it. It's actually more sensitive than it sounds; in fact it lights up on the slightest vibration. It’s a monochrome screen, which supposedly conserves battery life as it only lights up when required. The arrays of buttons change according to the mode, so in the same screen size you can get different button icons. Of course, a full-fledged color LCD touchscreen will do all this and more, but then it will also be much more expensive.