Wii Remote Plus - White

I am looking to purchase a wii for my hubby's birthday and I have a few questions about the Wii remote control. How does the remote control on the wii operate (Plug in or battery) ? Do you have to buy separate batteries for it? If not, do you need a charging

A: The Wii remote is totally wireless. It uses Bluetooth to communicate wirelessly with the Wii console. You can even sync it to a computer.

It uses 2 AA batteries, and your first set is included in the box. You can buy third-party battery

Use Voice, Gestures to Control TV

A new wave of TVs this year will provide the option of using voice controls or hand gestures to navigate channels, change volumes or find the right content from broadcasts or the Internet. Samsung recently shipped new interactive TVs that not only recognize hand gestures, but also voice commands with the assistance of a "Smart Touch Remote" control. Lenovo hopes to go beyond voice and gesture recognition with a smart TV that is capable of quality gaming. Panasonic has already shipped some of its latest Viera TVs in the U.K. with Nuance Communications' Dragon TV platform, which allows users to speak out channel choices or Twitter updates.

Samsung Smart TV

Samsung a few weeks ago started shipping new TVs that users can control simply by speaking or moving their hands. The interactive TVs include the Smart Touch Control remote, which has a microphone to take in voice commands that are then transmitted wirelessly to a TV set. The TV responds to simple commands like "volume up" or "channel up." Saying "Web browser" opens up the browsing software, and users can also speak directly into the Google search box instead of typing. The remote and TV are linked via a long-range Bluetooth connection, and voice commands are helpful if a user is not in front of the TV. Beyond voice recognition, the TV also has gesture recognition features in which moving a hand in the air allows users to browse around and select features, much like the Nintendo Wii or Microsoft Xbox gaming consoles.

Source: PCWorld (blog)

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