Gone is the era when the television remote control was a fascinating, much cherished device and beloved member of the family.
By conventional standards, the TV remote is old hat - nothing new or exciting. And while still practical and very helpful around the living room, its stature has been steadily diminished by a wide array of much neater, sexier gadgets in recent years.
This summer served yet another blow to the ego of remote controls everywhere, as advancements in the smartphone realm continue at a pace that could very well see the television remote facing extinction before the familiar little gadgets can even brace for it - like an asteroid penetrating our atmosphere to obliterate the dinosaurs before the poor creatures even knew what him 'em.