Silver PAC evolution 5500 universal remote & SideShow display

Universal remote controls are getting to be so complex that you could reasonably be more entertained by them than you are with what's on your big-screen TV.  Last we heard of Silver PAC they were pushing their eye-catching digital photo frame; now the company is promising an equally distinctive touchscreen remote control for launch at CES 2010, the Silver PAC evolution 5500.  Based around a finger-friendly 4.3-inch display, the evolution 5500 not only controls your Windows Media Center but up to 100 other devices and has SideShow functionality.

SideShow, if you've forgotten – and we wouldn't really blame you – is Microsoft's standard for putting secondary content and widgets onto small sub-displays.  That way you can have, say, Twitter or Facebook access from your remote, with the main crunching done on your PC rather than the evolution 5500's own ARM9 processor.

Other specs include WiFi b/g, 1GB of flash memory and 256MB of RAM, along with a 3-axis motion sensor, ambient light sensor, speaker and microphone.  They've also dropped in Z-Wave wireless and a mini-USB port for firmware updates and recharging; the battery is a reasonably capacious 3,760mAh pack.  No word on pricing – we're guessing a lot – but Silver PAC reckon the evolution 5500 will arrive on shelves in February 2010.

  • 4.3-inch Touch Color LCD (480 x 272)
  • ARM9 Processor
  • 1 GB Flash
  • 256 MB SDRAM
  • Built in Speaker
  • Built in Microphone
  • 3 Axis Motion Sensor
  • Ambient Light Sensor
  • Capacitive Buttons
  • Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R2
  • Microsoft Windows SideShow
  • Microsoft Media Center
  • Supporting 100 Devices
  • Activity & Learning Function
  • Rechargeable 3760 mAh Battery
  • Firmware upgrade and rechargeable from mini-USB
  • 802.11g Wi-Fi
  • Z-Wave
  • RC6
  • Photo sync from Live.com
  • [via Krunker]