[coldtea]

So, instead of the phone (which for most people is always with you), have an extra task-specific remote, to feed with batteries, lose, and go fetch from another room when you need it.

Plus "nice tactile buttons"? 2005 called. Of all the things one would need those for, setting a thermostat (which takes like 5 seconds) is very low in utility...

[walterbell]

Some people like using the human sense of touch. Just because there is not yet a billion-dollar corporation profiting from "tactile input devices" (http://research.nokia.com/publication/11833), doesn't mean we all have to buy into the marketing of "screens-and-rectangles" manufacturers who are optimizing for the visual sense.

When the iWatch launches, it will become "fashionable" to receive signals via vibration, i.e. tactile input. Apple and others will make sure we remember our sense of touch, because it has been monetized. We don't need to wait for each of our senses to be monetized, before recognizing that they are already useful with proven technology.

A special-function remote or panel has fixed positions and shapes that can be stored in motor memory, requiring minimal use of the visual sensory system, without the need for eye-hand coordination to push soft buttons on a smartphone.

Note: the act of getting up and sitting down is good for health, as astronauts will attest from experience in gravity-free environments.

[untog]

The remote is always exactly where you need it, in front of the TV. As for batteries.. when was the last time you changed your remote batteries? How about the last time you charged your phone? I'll take my once-every-six-months battery replacement over the chance that I'll need to plug my phone in to charge while I'm also trying to use it as a remote.

And if you think that tactile buttons are somehow "over", you're wrong. They're tremendously useful.