Sony has unveiled a product it's calling the SRS-LSR100 which is a pretty terrible name for what can best be described as a peculiar gadget.
At first glance, the device looks like an unusual wireless speaker with way too many buttons on the top. That's pretty much what it is - a 2.4GHz wireless speaker with a television remote built in.
The idea is that you can control and listen to your television without actually having to be in the same room. For example, you could listen to the news while you're in the kitchen cooking or working out in the exercise room. It comes with a dongle that plugs into your television to beam audio to the speaker.
The oddity includes a headphone jack (kind of defeats the purpose of having a speaker, no?), a number pad, a large volume dial, channel up and down buttons and more. There's also a convenient carrying handle to tote around the small brick which tips the scales at nearly a pound. The internal battery is said to last up to 16 hours.
The SRS-LSR100 will be available starting next month in Japan for around $170. No word yet on whether or not it'll be sold in other regions. At that price point, I suspect Sony will have a hard time convincing buyers that they need this clumsy-looking gadget in their lives.