The user interface gap between Internet based media and traditional television viewing has been discussed here quite a few times.  While the current generation of digital media players often offer proprietary interfaces that attempt to simplify access to the vast amounts of online content from sites such as Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and Swarmcast, the result is often cumbersome and expectantly limiting.  It’s hard to recreate the flexibility offered by a keyboard and mouse with a push button remote control.

While home theater PC’s (HTPC), like the Fujitsu Q1500 ESPRIMO, offer more robust hardware and greater flexibility in choosing a software driven user interface (e.g. Boxee) than digital media players, they usually cost more and require the keyboard and pointer associated with a PC (although the Asus Eee Keyboard could make all that a lot cooler).  To simplify this home theater PC user-device interaction, GlideTV created the Navigator, a palmable touchpad based pointing device to access and control HTPC content.

With the device’s wireless receiver connected to an HTPC USB port and the GlideTV software installed, users can easily control an on-screen pointer with their thumb in much the same way a laptop touchpad works.  Portions of the touchpad are reserved for both vertical and horizontal scrolling, and an on-screen virtual keyboard makes alpha-numeric searches possible, but somewhat cumbersome.  An array of backlit buttons around the touchpad provide another degree of functionality for added compatibility with different content providers.  The sleek device has an internal rechargeable battery and includes a charging station.  With an MSRP of $150, the GlideTV Navigator could be the missing link in the chain to better integrate the functionality of a PC into the home theater setting.