Now the kids can have their own remote

The Gadget Show  Thursday 21 October 2010

Stop the kids from pushing your buttons

If you find yourself fighting a losing battle in keeping your kids away from that nice shiny universal remote control you’ve invested in, Sony may have the solution.

Its name may be decidedly child-unfriendly, but the RM-KZ1 has it where it counts: bright colours, big buttons and chunky design.

But don’t be fooled: this is in fact a functioning remote control. The colourful 1-to-7 buttons dominating the front of the RM-KZ1 can be programmed to specific child-friendly channels using the full numeric keypad underneath (which can be covered the rest of the time).

Mercifully, the volume control can only be adjusted by two notches every 30 seconds, which gives you a chance should your young one decide it’s time to test just how loud those speakers can go.

It can work with two devices at a time – typically the TV for volume and a set-top box for channel control – and is splashproof too. The RM-KZ1 is on sale in the US now for a touch under $20, so hopefully we’ll be seeing it fairly soon this side of the Atlantic too.