Loop Pointer: Wave Your Cursor Around
I haven’t been able to see the personal benefits of using an air mouse. Those are the wireless mice that move the cursor around the screen when you wave the mouse around in the air. I’m sure there are folks who find the air mouse to be the best thing since mice lost wires, but I’m not one of those. I do have to admit the Loop Pointer looks like a pretty nice implementation of the air mouse, though.
The Loop Pointer is basically a circle with buttons and a scroll wheel on the mouse. This looks like it could be a great mouse solution for Media Centers. It would also be a fantastic presentation pointer, I’ll bet. It’s expensive at $99, but some might find that reasonable.
(via TRFJ)
I’ve never used an air-mouse that works properly. I’ve never used this one but plenty of places I’ve worked at have Gyration mouses and there’s no way you can really use them as a mouse in the air. It’s just too difficult to have any accuracy and your arms get tired before you even managed to hit a target.
The two products are hardly comparable in use. The Loop is really stable and precise. And the motion is relative so you can hold it in your lap even. You don’t point it like a pistol.
Probably very popular with tax accountants as well. They’re always looking for a new loophole.
Shoot, this thing is old. Played with it at CES 2007. And the Hillcrest tech is integrated/licensed into some Logitech and Kodak products. I think they’ve had a hard time finding set-top box partners (they have a nice 10′ UI), which is why they’re trying direct retail now. I’m not hopeful.
We’ve used a Wiimote as a mouse pointer via bluetooth.
It works great and you have several buttons you can configure.
Wiimote costs $40
Drivers can be found on the internet for free.