HAL - a Settop Box that Controls Your TV with Voice and Gestures

LAS VEGAS - I saw a very interesting TV settop box called HAL at CES. This is a device that sits between you and your cable or satellite box, taking over the interface. It then allows you to control your TV with voice and/or gestures. Think: "Turn it to CNN" or "Find an Episode of Castle" levels of control.  You can also use your hands to swipe through menus and play shows, or use a combination of both. It also streams movies from Netflix and music from Pandora. Using Bluetooth, it can also display incoming phone calls from your iPhone or Android device. And check this out: it does all this without collecting our data and watching habits to be sold to advertisers. I talked to the CEO of the company about that, and he was adamantly against such practices, so kudos to him and his company, but it's going to be interesting to see if they get snapped up by a larger company. I should also note that what they're doing is a lot like what we've heard Apple wants to do, which was why I checked them out in the first place.

Check It Out: HAL - a Settop Box that Controls Your TV with Voice and Gestures

HAL - a Settop Box that Controls Your TV with Voice and Gestures