Sideclick is a newly launched Kickstarter project that is set out to simplify your home’s remote situation. The devices snaps onto the side of a Fire TV or Fire TV Stick remote and has 6 IR programable buttons. There are also models for Roku and Apple TV remotes. Each of the 6 buttons can be taught to replicate any number of functions from an existing IR remote by pointing your remote at the Sideclick.
The first 500 backers can buy the device for $20. The next 1,000 backers will pay $25, at which point the price will go up to $30. Of course, being a Kisckstarter campaign, the device will only ship if it meets its goal of $150,000 in 45 days.
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that’s clever. no confidence in the project, though, as there is no reason why the host remote cannot do the same internally. X10 had ir/rf remotes decades ago.
Host remote has no it capability and it’s doubtful amazon would add. Not a bad deal considering the other option is a harmony.
This is Brett Epstein the inventor of Sideclick. Thanks AFTVnews for the writeup. You are right snorkel, almost all the new streaming device remotes are wi-fi based and almost all TVs use IR technology so even if the streaming remotes had TV power and volume buttons, which they don’t, they still would not be capable of controlling basic TV functions like the Sideclick.
The Harmony is a great option and we have one in our family room but I have 3 other TVs in the house that needed a solution and a 3 and a 6 year old who still struggle with the harmony. The Sideclick is extremely simple and easy to use.
Host remote has no ir capability and it’s doubtful amazon would add. Not a bad deal considering the other option is a harmony.
Make that same case with a lighted qwerty keyboard and I’ll buy 3.
I like the idea fassfa but for our first generation Sideclick we are focusing on slim and simple. We’ll keep the qwerty idea in our back pockets and hopefully we’ll be able to expand our product line in the future.
eh — happy with my refurb harmony remote/hub setup….for $79 shipped. :)
Agree – Harmony Hub works really well.
You could use a flirc and use any remote with the firetv. Flirc has a logitech harmony firetv profile too, no setup needed.
I pledged for 3! I like the idea. Hope it happens . I have FireTV’s but will probably get the firetv stick version . Does the firetv stick work in the FireTV?
Thanks for your support Neogeo71. Please spread the word, we have a long way to go to reach our funding goal and we can use all the help we can get.
And to answer your question, yes, both FireTV remotes work on either system. This was actually confirmed by AFTVnews: http://www.aftvnews.com/fire-tv-stick-non-voice-remote-compatible-with-fire-tv/
Oh, and I don’t want a hub off my FireTV and I think my usb port is better off used for additional storage than a ir sensor .
Clever idea. I can see how it would be useful. $25 shipping to anywhere other then the US ($6)? No thanks.
Does not look like it can control your cable-box or A/V receiver. Can’t beat the Harmony hub.
If you have IR remotes for either of those, you should be able to program the buttons to control them. Problem there is the limited amount of buttons available and I don’t see the ability to program power to power on multiple devices (or any other button to do any two or more functions simultaneously). To me that’s a limitation but one I can get around so I might back this.
Thanks for clearing that up Pete. You are right that currently Sideclick can not control multiple functions with a single button. However, our control chip is capable of handling more buttons. When we reach our funding goal, we are going to be working with our backers to come up with the exact right button count and configuration. We are considering the option of adding more buttons while maintaining our design integrity. We will provide updates as things progress.
Totally missed the mark, who’s going to spend AS MUCH on this little add-on remote clip as they did on the actual unit? What they should have done is make the keyboard case for the fire stick, that’s something we need cause they already have it for the mic’ed remote. It’s the bees knees for typing in capcha in KODI. Whoever makes THAT remote case will make a fortune, not this silly IR nonsense.
Datruf, a keyboard case could be a great product but that’s not the point of Sideclick. Even a keyboard case, like the ones we have seen for the AppleTV, use bluetooth technology. That still leaves you looking for your other remotes when you need to turn on or off your TV or control your TV or receiver volume. That’s the problem we were trying to solve with the Sideclick.
As far as the cost goes, we are relying on all our funding from our Kickstarter campaign. Plastic injection molding tools are very expensive and that is driving our product cost. Hopefully in the future we can find a way to reduce the MSRP of our product.
My Samsung remote that came with my TV controls the Firetv just fine will have to pass on this.