Saturday, March 13, 2010

What makes Xeblix different

This post is about competition to Xeblix and what makes Xeblix different. The closest open source competition to Xeblix that I am aware of is BlueMaemo. BlueMaemo turns Maemo devices into an infra-red remote control, bluetooth keyboard/mouse, and a PS3 game controller. I see two problems with BlueMaemo, the first is its Maemo dependency. While BlueMaemo can use a network Lirc server, most people use the built in infra-red on Maemo devices. Most phones don't have infra-red hardware built in, and requiring Wi-Fi to talk to a network Lirc server is not battery efficient. A second Maemo dependency is the use of restricted Bluetooth L2CAP ports. Access to restricted L2CAP ports are required to implement the Bluetooth HID profile, unfortunately dependency on restricted Bluetooth access is a luxury that most mobile Operating Systems don't afford. Its basically a case of having root access on Maemo, but not on other mobile Operating Systems. This first problem is really a testament to the really nice hardware Nokia puts out and the openness of Maemo, but it does make it difficult to port BlueMaemo to different platforms.

The second problem with BlueMaemo is a problem I have seen in all mobile phone remote controls. You have to stare at the phone while hitting buttons. All mobile phone remote control apps I have seen base their layout on a traditional physical remote control, i.e. buttons. This works well for a physical remote control because you learn where the buttons are and can manipulate them using touch only. Smart phones however don't have the tactile feedback required. The obvious answer is to use gestures. I am sure there are some apps out there that already do this, but Xeblix is focused on non-visual interaction.

RemoteDroid is an application used to control a PC using your phone. There are a whole class of applications that do similar things. The problem with these applications are they can only control a PC, not infra-red devices. Some of these apps support Bluetooth but many only support Wi-Fi. I fall firmly in the Bluetooth camp due to power issues and connection establishment reasons. Another problem I have with these apps are that they require server software running on the machine you are controlling. Forcing users to install software limits the appeal to techie users, leaving non-techie users from enjoying the product. Xeblix server can also be installed on the machine you are controlling, however I support this feature for the more technical users. My real vision is for a stand alone device (like a SheevaPlug) that requires no software to be installed. Plug it it, pair it with a PC or game console via Bluetooth and your done.

Commercial competition
This brings me to commercial competition. These are mostly IPhone focused for now, however I am sure most have ambitions to support additional platforms, it just makes business sense to target the largest segment with the least amount of work. The commercial competition falls into three categories

  1. IPhone specific hardware. Example: FLPR. These products have infra-red hareware that attaches directly to your IPhone and are infra-red only, no Bluetooth keyboard/mouse support.
  2. Wi-Fi devices. Example: RedEye. These are better products as they can support different mobile platforms. A stand-alone device you connect to via Wi-Fi. The problem is they also are infra-red only (no Bluetooth Keyboard support) and Wi-Fi on your phone is very power hungry.
  3. Buetooth devices. Example: Audiovox Zentral. Audiovox is the only product I know of in this category and its looks like they don't even have a site up for it, all I can find are press clippings. The idea is solid, connect via Bluetooth to the stand-alone device that emits infra-red signals. I don't know if the device supports acting like a Bluetooth HID device, its something they could probably do with a firmware update.

Of the commercial competition category 3) is closest to Xeblix. However one thing that seems universal with the commercial competition is that they are focused on remote controlling electronics, not PCs or game consoles. Also I am not sure if any of the UIs have advanced beyond the physical button imitation.

To sum up what makes Xeblix different, Xeblix is gesture oriented and designed to work with purpose built hardware and existing PCs. Xeblix also has the goal of supporting as many client platforms as possible: Mobile smart phones, feature phones, PCs, Table PCs, PMPs, basically anything with a bluetooth or network connection.

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