I learned a very important lesson this past holiday season. No matter how impossible it seems to find just the right gift for a select few names on my shopping list, the situation can absolutely be made worse by taking my husband shopping with me. After a too-long visit to a large mall an hour's drive from home with a fussy baby irritated at being strapped into a stroller, we emerged with a scant few Christmas gifts - but a new DVD player and $50 remote control for my husband. After all, he is his own favorite person to shop for.

I knew that he had been eyeing the 6-in-1 Kameleon Touchscreen Remote for quite some time, and he found it on sale for $50 (down from $60) at Radio Shack. This time, he just couldn't resist. We picked up the required four AAA batteries on our way home so his gratification wouldn't be delayed a second longer.

~* It's a WHAT? *~
At first glance, this remote hardly looks like one at all. Measuring 9.38" long and 2.79" wide, a flat cobalt blue panel is edged by a black and silver metallic rim. While certainly rectangular like a remote, the complete lack of buttons has thrown off more than a few visitors since it joined our household.

When moved, however, the blue screen lights up, turning into a touch-screen remote control capable of controlling up to six components (thus the name 6-in-1.) The days of keeping up with an insane number of remotes is behind us; this one effectively controls the television, VCR, DVD player, satellite or cable box, CD player and audio components (in our case, a home theater receiver.)

At the top of the remote, six small backlit icons represent each of the components controlled by this remote; when in use, you must first press the button of the object you wish to control. In doing so, the touchscreen changes to reflect only those buttons relevant to the device - for example, the play, rewind, fast forward (etc.) buttons light up for the 'add on' devices, but disappear when the TV button is pressed. Only the number pad, channel, volume and mute buttons remain lit no matter which device is currently in use.

~* Setup *~
Like most gadgets, this one does nothing until it's had it's fill of batteries. In the case of this remote, a small Phillips screwdriver is needed to remove the battery cover on the backside of the remote. The batteries slide into place and take up very little room; in fact, the remote hardly seems thick enough to contain batteries at all.

Once the remote is operational, it will usually need programming - as default, it is pre-programmed to operate an RCA television, VCR, DVD and satellite receiver, as well as Pioneer CD and audio devices. Should you own different brands, programming is in order before you can use your new remote. The last fourteen pages of the 60-page instruction manual included with the 6-in-1 Kameleon Touchscreen Remote (in both English and Spanish) are dedicated to the manufacturer codes needed for programming; full instructions for programming various devices are included, and are usually as simple as pressing the "P" (program) button and entering a four-digit code.

While only a television may be set up using the TV mode key, other accessories may be controlled with the following mode keys:

VCR - controls VCR, cassette player, digital audio tape or PVR
DVD - controls DVD, laser disc player, Xbox or Playstation 2
SAT/CBL - controls satellite receiver, cable box or another video accessory
AUD - controls amp/tuner, amplifier or home theater
CD - controls CD player or another home accessory (such as remote-control lighting)

While I admit to leaving the programming entirely up to my husband (it was his new toy, after all), he dismissed the process as "simple" and had all six modes fully programmed in just under fifteen minutes. (And to his credit, everything is working just fine...so far.)

Although easy, one may not especially relish the thought of re-programming everything every time the batteries are changed - and luckily, there's no need to, thanks to the remote's memory retention. It's a darn good thing, too, and I'll tell you why in a minute...

~* Simple Enough for a Woman To Use *~
Before I get slammed for that subtitle, please keep in mind that I, myself, am female - one that is plagued by her husband's constant desire for more and more new and varied audio/video equipment. At one time, simply sitting down to watch a few minutes of a favorite show turned into an ordeal for me as I struggled to remember which remote operated which component and how to switch from TV to DVD...and where's the volume again? Yes, I fear change when it comes to the configuration of our television equipment - as soon as I start to figure things out, he invariably changes everything around again, leaving me lost.

~* Additional Features *~
There are several additional features of the 6-in-1 Kameleon Touchscreen Remote that, while not absolutely necessary, make me feel better about the $50 dropped on this gadget.

--- AUTO SHUTDOWN ---
After ten seconds of inactivity, the touchscreen automatically turns off in order to preserve battery life. While the manual states that lifting the remote or pressing a button will turn the screen back on, it rarely takes that much effort - a gentle touch, or even inadvertent movement (such as sitting something on the sofa cushion beside it) will reactivate the screen.

--- VOLUME LOCK ---
By default, this remote allows the volume control to adjust only the device currently selected - in TV mode, the television's volume would be adjusted, in CD mode, only the CD player, and so on. However, this isn't always desirable - for instance, we have a television, VCR, DVD player, Tivo box and home theater system controlled by this remote, and the only device that needs to have volume continually adjusted is the home theater receiver. Using the volume lock feature, the remote can be programmed to adjust the volume only on one device, no matter what mode it is currently in. Now we can watch a DVD without having to press the AUD button to change the volume - what a relief!

--- FAVORITE CHANNEL SCAN ---
Up to ten favorite channels may be stored by the remote and scanned through at the touch of a button. While this is a nice feature for those who prefer a few channels, it is not compatible with Tivo, and so we haven't gotten any use out of it yet.

--- WORKS WITH EVERYTHING ---
In addition to working with every conceivable audio and video component, this remote has taken into account special features such as picture-in-picture and Tivo/DVR functions, including Advance and Freeze/Live TV buttons in the SAT/CBL mode. Of course, all home entertainment systems are configured differently, which leads to...

--- THE LEARNING FEATURE ---
Want to add features unique to your situation, such as VCR tracking? Four 'custom keys', labeled M1 - M4, may be found at the bottom of the remote, and may be programmed for new functions within each mode (24 new controls in all.) Complete instructions for 'teaching' your remote new functions are included.

--- MACROS ---
The remote may be programmed to perform a series of functions with the press of one button - for instance, turning off several devices at once instead of one at a time.

--- REASSIGNING MODE KEYS ---
Do you have a second television, VCR, DVD player or other gadget that you'd like to control using this remote? No problem! Set up a mode that you don't use to control another device. For example, we have a second (albeit very small) television in the living room - this way, my video game-obsessed husband can effectively hog the larger television and baby can still ogle Sesame Street from her spot in the floor. Since we don't have a separate CD player, we've assigned the CD mode to control this smaller television instead. In this manner, the 6-in-1 Kameleon Touchscreen Remote is even more personalized to your unique setup.

--- UPGRADES ---
Technology is constantly changing and, as it does, I can count on my husband to keep buying new gadgets. Thankfully, this remote is able to be upgraded with new codes via telephone. Should you require a device not currently compatible with the remote, simply call Customer Service with the brand name and model number of your device, hold the speaker portion of your phone to the remote, and the new information will be transferred to the remote in a matter of seconds. This is one gadget that will never become obsolete.

~* But You'll PAY For All This... *~
We (or rather, he) purchased the 6-in-1 Kameleon Touchscreen Remote on a hectic pre-holiday Saturday afternoon. Giddy with his new gadget, he happily played with it for exactly one week, even allowing me to hold it once or twice as I learned which buttons did what. And then...it died. It was a quick and quiet death with no dramatics, it simply worked one minute and the next minute, nothing.

Furious that such an expensive gadget would stop working after only one short week, Dear Sweet Husband rummaged through the (thankfully fairly empty) trash can and produced the receipt that shouldn't have been thrown away at all. I asked if he had checked the batteries, to which he replied that it couldn't be the batteries, as we had only used the thing for a week. The next day, just as he was on his way out the door to return the remote to a local Radio Shack, I prodded him again about the batteries. Irritated, he decided to prove to me that it was a defect in the remote by changing the batteries.

It was the batteries.

HOLY. CRAP. The batteries had lasted only one week?! I quickly did the math - using decent batteries at about $4 per pack, and replacing them every week, we would be paying $16 each month just to keep this remote operational. What was this, the bloody subscription fee?! While my husband was thrilled that his beloved remote had returned from the dead, now I was ready to take it back!

Thankfully, the second set of batteries lasted a bit longer - two weeks, this time. So we're down to $8 each month in battery costs - thank goodness all of the baby toys littering our living room last much longer on cheaper batteries.

We like this remote - a lot - or we wouldn't be willing to keep 'feeding' it batteries so often. The extra features and the ability to truly control all of our audio/video equipment with one remote have us a bit spoiled at this point, but I'd have had more reservations from the beginning had I known about the poor battery life. If you own stock in Duracell, this is definitely the remote for you - if not, well, give it some thought anyway.

~* Care and Repair *~
This remote should be handled gently and not dropped, used only in normal temperatures, and quickly wiped dry if it happens to get wet.

Should the remote stop functioning properly, it may be taken to any Radio Shack store for assistance. Attempting to fix it yourself can cause a malfunction and may invalidate the 90-day warranty against defects in material and workmanship.

~* Contact Information *~
Visit Radio Shack online at www.radioshack.com to find a store near you, or call 1-800-THE-SHACK (1-800-843-7422).

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