Samsung Electronics has launched the Samsung Smart Control. This is an update of the Smart TV remote control.

“Innovation and design excellence is at the heart of the Samsung Smart Control, combining gesture-recognition with a new button console and touch pad to provide frequent Internet video users with more accurate content selection and faster focus movement,” says Lance Berger, Head of Product Marketing for TV/AV, Samsung Electronics, South Africa.

With the Smart Control, users get to shift between menu items through gestures through the Movie/Drama/App menu listing on the Smart TV screen to select and access their content more accurately by using four directional buttons.

So this is how interesting it is, when accessing content the remote’s touchpad can be used to flip from page to page with a similar motion to turning the pages of a book. This gadget also includes Voice Interaction functionality all you have to do is speak directly at the remote.

The touchpad on the new remote is also over 80 percent smaller than in the 2013 version and has been designed for easier use, including short-cuts to frequently used functions.

The Smart Control also includes separate buttons for “Multi-Link Screen”, which enables users to watch multiple content at the same time on a single screen, as well as “Soccer Mode”, which allows viewers to optimize viewing for soccer programmes with a single button. The new remote also brings up the virtual remote keyboard more easily and quickly.

“The TV remote has continually evolved since its invention, starting as a wired device when first introduced in the 1950s, shifting to wireless, LCD and QWERTY formats, and finally to touch and wheel control. It has also gone through a variety of designs, from classic rectangular to more modern ergonomic curved shapes. As TV functionality and viewing trends change, so should the way the TV is managed. Innovation, voice and motion control, the design and intuitive features of the remote is essential for the complete user experience,” concludes Berger.