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LG pops out improved Magic Motion remote

LG has taken the wrapper off its newest Magic Motion remote that will be bundled with 2013 televisions; it now includes gesture recognition and a greater selection of controls.

Ty Pendlebury Editor
Ty Pendlebury is a journalism graduate of RMIT Melbourne, and has worked at CNET since 2006. He lives in New York City where he writes about streaming and home audio.
Expertise Ty has worked for radio, print, and online publications, and has been writing about home entertainment since 2004. He majored in Cinema Studies when studying at RMIT. He is an avid record collector and streaming music enthusiast. Credentials
  • Ty was nominated for Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism awards, but he has only ever won one thing. As a youth, he was awarded a free session for the photography studio at a local supermarket.
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Ty Pendlebury
LG has unveiled a new Magic Motion remote LG

LG has unleashed its newest Magic Motion remote control weeks ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and it includes several improvements such as natural voice recognition and even backlighting.

The new television remote now uses four methods of control -- voice, gesture, point, and wheel -- and while the wheel was introduced this year, gestures and "natural" speech are new.

LG is taking on Samsung with its new natural speech feature; while Samsung users have to say "Hi, TV" to get the television to register, LG claims that phrases like "Show me 'Gangnam Style' video" will work as intended.

The remote will come in two iterations -- a premium and standard model -- with the premium Magic Motion remote featuring LED backlit buttons and a more compact design.

Having used LG Magic Motion remotes for several years, we welcome the addition of a dedicated Menu option, though the device has lost a lot of its former simplicity and now appears covered with buttons.