If we want to make our Beogear more user friendly, "thinking out of the box" shouldn't start with the remote.
I'm going to defend Bikkel one more time and then he's on his own!😕
Personally I think that the interface (remote in this case) is exactly where you start. Start being the operative word. The way a person interacts should drive the design and if we can reduce the buttons on the remote where operations are complex and resource intensive (I'm using the term "intensive" relatively!) to the screen where the interface can be laid out more intuitively than that should be the direction. Bayerische is right to cite Apple's approach in making the button essentially an up/down/left/right/go affair and relegating other navigation to the screen where the interface requires fewer compromises.
All that being said, if this was presented at my university where I studied interface design, it would be torn limb from limb in the crit phase, but the approach is admirable and one that is seldom undertaken. To throw away the "legacy" components of a product and build it from scratch as though the idea was just conceived is sometimes a worthwhile undertaking and will always find a niche market of individuals who are open to a truly unique use experience.
