Amulet Devices, a new company based in Ireland, has announced the first voice-enabled remote control designed for Vista Media Center edition. The new Amulet Remote allows users to tune channels, watch specific shows or play an artist, all using simple voice commands.

The Amulet Remote will ship in March 2009 and is expected to cost $299 USD. The full press release is provided below.

Voice Recognition In The Home – A Reality At Last

Las Vegas, 8 January 2009. Amulet Devices, CEA i-stage finalists, will introduce the Amulet Remote at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES®) in Las Vegas today, Thursday 8 January.

The Amulet Remote is the first voice-enabled remote control designed specifically for Vista Media Center. It makes it easy to record and watch TV, listen to your favorite music, and view DVDs, videos and photos – all using simple voice commands. The remote works with any Vista Media Center system, and replaces the standard media center remote control, keeping your living room clutter-free.

With modern cable and satellite systems offering hundreds of digital channels, finding what you want to watch can be difficult. With Amulet, you just say “Watch Channel Cinemax” and the system selects the Cinemax channel.

To watch last night’s recorded episode of your favorite crime show, say “Watch Program Law & Order”, and Amulet will find and display it.

The same approach works for music. To listen to that new album you bought last week, say “Play Artist Coldplay” and the music starts to play. Whether you have 20 or 2000 CDs, Amulet will find what you are looking for, removing the need to scroll through long menus of tracks.

Don’t recognize that song? Say “Name that tune” and Amulet tells you what’s playing – the product includes a high quality synthesized voice that allows two way conversations, even when the television is turned off.

The company has spent the last 18 months developing its own software and hardware, which features patent-pending technology to automatically sense when it is being spoken to. Voice commands are then transmitted via secure wireless link to the Media Center which responds accordingly. The Amulet remote also operates as a traditional remote control with buttons, so users can choose the most convenient way to carry out any task.

CEO Garry McMullan commented, "We can't wait to show America how well voice works as an interface to all your digital media. CES 2009 is the ideal place for us to bring Amulet’s innovative technology to a much wider audience. We encourage attendees to come to our stand and try out Amulet for themselves."

Director of Engineering Steve Collins said, “Speech recognition technology has finally achieved the level of accuracy needed for use in the home. With the Amulet voice-activated remote control, we are the first company in the world to bring this exciting new capability to the consumer market through our unique combination of dedicated hardware and software.”

The Amulet Remote is scheduled to ship in March 2009. For more information, including demonstration videos, visit the company's website at www.amuletdevices.com.