{"id":401,"date":"2010-10-24T03:00:10","date_gmt":"2010-10-24T07:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techiteens.wordpress.com\/?p=401"},"modified":"2013-07-23T16:32:44","modified_gmt":"2013-07-23T16:32:44","slug":"hillcrest-loop-pointer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/hillcrest-loop-pointer\/","title":{"rendered":"Hillcrest Loop Pointer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Loop Pointer<\/h1>\n

By: Hillcrest Labs<\/a><\/h2>\n

\"Loop<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Hillcrest Loop Pointer is a great tool if you find yourself using the internet through your TV or plan to start doing so.\u00a0 It makes browsing the internet from your couch relatively comfortable.\u00a0 This makes it great for getting TV shows and movies from online sites or other tasks such as these that don\u2019t require intensive use of a keyboard and mouse.<\/p>\n

The Loop Pointer is very different from the traditional mouse that you are probably used to using.\u00a0 It uses the motion of your hand to move the cursor on a screen rather than having to slide a mouse around on a hard surface in order to move the cursor. The Loop doesn\u2019t need to be pointed at the screen while you\u2019re using it; it determines what direction to send the cursor based on the movement of the Loop in your hand.\u00a0 For instance your hand can be pointed in the opposite direction of the TV, but if you move your wrist up, the cursor will still move in the same way that it would if you had the Loop pointed directly at the TV.<\/p>\n

The thing that is similar to a regular mouse is the set up of the buttons on the device.\u00a0 It has a left and right click where your thumb rests for easy, natural feeling while you\u2019re using it.\u00a0 It even includes a scroll wheel that makes navigating web pages a breeze.\u00a0 The loop has a \u201cHide\u201d button that you can use if you\u2019re moving your hand around but don\u2019t want the mouse moving.\u00a0 When you press the button it locks the cursor in place so you can put the Loop down on the couch and not worry about an annoying cursor flying all over the screen every time you move.\u00a0 This feature can also helps if you use the Loop for power point presentations. If you use hand gestures during the presentation you won\u2019t have to worry about a distracting cursor on the screen.<\/p>\n

Getting the Loop set up was simple, but getting used to the gestures to move the mouse took a little while.\u00a0 The only thing necessary for the Loop to interact with your computer is the loop receiver, which is about the size of a flash drive and fits into any USB port on your computer.\u00a0 There are no programs to install and the drivers required for the Loop are installed automatically.\u00a0 Next, you have to connect your computer to your TV.\u00a0 Depending on the type of TV you own you may be able to use VGA, S-Video, or HDMI cables to do this.\u00a0 Once the display from your computer is being sent to your TV (this may require some extra steps depending on your computer) you\u2019re all set to use the internet on the big screen from the comfort of your living room couch.\u00a0 Getting used to the gestures to move the cursor takes practice, but it is easy to master and you\u2019ll have the hang of it after a little bit of practice.<\/p>\n

An optional step is to download the Kylo browser created by Hillcrest.\u00a0 The browser works in the same way as Internet Explorer or Firefox would, but it has a few features that make it easier to use with the Loop.\u00a0 First, when you open the browser, your preset home page is designed by Hillcrest.\u00a0 It contains links in the forms of pictures to popular sites such as Facebook, Youtube, and Hulu. These pictures are relatively large so you can easily click on them while using the Loop.\u00a0 Second, whenever you click on a box where you have to type, an on screen keyboard pops up so you can type with the cursor and not have to worry about having a keyboard on your lap at all times.\u00a0 The buttons on the keyboard are also big making it easier to click on with the Loop.\u00a0 Another feature I liked about the browser was that since it is made to be used on a TV, the browser took up the whole screen and made surfing smooth and is very nice to look at.<\/p>\n

The Loop Pointer currently is selling for 69.99 from the Hillcrest website.\u00a0 I enjoyed using the pointer very much and thought it was a great product.\u00a0 It reminded me of using the Wii remote except it didn\u2019t need to be pointed directly at the screen since it doesn\u2019t use a motion bar like the Wii.\u00a0 Although you could buy a wireless mouse for 20 or 30 dollars which could accomplish the same thing as the Loop, I really liked how the Loop brought more interaction into surfing the web than a simple mouse would.<\/p>\n

Specifications:<\/h3>\n

\u00a7\u00a0 Diameter: 4.8 inches (approximately the size of a CD or DVD)<\/p>\n

\u00a7\u00a0 Width: 1.2 inches<\/p>\n

\u00a7\u00a0 Weight: 4.9 ounces<\/p>\n

\u00a7\u00a0 Color: Black with silver buttons<\/p>\n

\u00a7\u00a0 Connectivity: USB 2.0 antenna with built in RF (radio frequency transceiver)<\/p>\n

\u00a7\u00a0 Power supply: 2 AA batteries (included)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Grab your Own:
\nAmazon.com: $69.00<\/a>
\nHillCrest Labs: 70.00<\/a><\/p>\n

To See More Reviews Visit us at: TechiTeens.com<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Loop Pointer By: Hillcrest Labs The Hillcrest Loop Pointer is a great tool if you find yourself using the internet through your TV or plan to start doing so.\u00a0 It makes browsing the internet from your couch relatively comfortable.\u00a0 This makes it great for getting TV shows and movies from online sites or other tasks […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2117,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=401"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}