NuVo Technologies just announced that its eagerly anticipated Wireless Control Pad is now fully shipping. The Wireless Control Pad is a new option for user control of NuVo's Grand Concerto and Essentia E6G multi-room audio systems, as well as the sources attached to them, such as satellite and terrestrial radio tuners, music servers, PCs and iPods.

The Wireless Control Pad enhances the existing NuVo system control options available to dealers and end users: NuVo's hard-wired, in-wall OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) Control Pads and web browser-based control via NuVo's Music Port. The Wireless Control Pad in particular is an attractive solution for retrofit environments where homeowners want to limit the architectural or interior design impact of multi-room audio installation. Dealers also can revisit existing customers with the Wireless Control Pad, enabling them to easily expand control of their already-installed NuVo systems.

The sleek, palm-held Wireless Control Pad features a 1.6-inch OLED screen, and is roughly five inches long, two inches wide and less than an inch thick, making it about the size of a smartphone. A user can take the Wireless Control Pad (along with his or her favorite music) anywhere in the home--the breakfast table, the couch, the kitchen, outdoor areas, or anywhere in-wall Control Pads aren't conveniently accessible--and easily select music or sources on a NuVo multi-room audio system. The Wireless Control Pad also receives metadata and operational feedback from the sources connected to the NuVo system.

The Wireless Control Pad breaks the previous paradigm of "one in-wall Control Pad per each audio zone." It can roam from zone to zone in a NuVo system (although it can be permanently tied to a single zone if preferable), and it is particularly compelling as a way to extend NuVo control to the backyard, by the pool or grill, or to any other indoor or outdoor location on a property where an in-wall Control Pad can't be effectively or conveniently mounted.

It also is a sensible alternative for rooms where it is impractical or impossible to install in-wall Control Pads--for example, where stucco, concrete, brick or rock walls exist, or where barriers make it difficult to string wire between the room in question and the NuVo audio distribution amplifier. Before the arrival of the Wireless Control Pad, such rooms often would be ruled out as potential audio zones.

The device also is ideal for the homeowner who, for cosmetic reasons, may not wish to have in-wall Control Pads in every room. Because it doesn't require cutting into a wall and pulling wire like an in-wall Control Pad would, the Wireless Control Pad particularly can enhance the appeal of installing a new multi-room audio system in an existing home.

The system consists of three components: the Wireless Control Pad itself, a Network Coordinator and a Charging Dock. The Network Coordinator acts as a bridge between the Wireless Control Pad and the hard-wired NuVo whole-home audio network (NuVoNet), to which it connects via CAT-5. Up to five Wireless Control Pads can communicate with one household Network Coordinator via the IEEE 802.15.4 radio frequency (RF) standard. The tabletop Charging Dock, which plugs into the home's electrical system, recharges the Lithium Polymer battery of the Wireless Control Pad, which holds 10 hours of continuous operation charge. An additional Network Coordinator can also be purchased for larger home installations.

The device features motion-sensitive operation. If it hasn't been moved or touched for a brief time, the Wireless Control Pad goes into power-conserving standby mode according to the user's programmed preferences. When the user picks it up or touches it, the device automatically turns on; there is no need to press a "power-on" button or any other buttons.

Unlike other wireless home entertainment interfaces, the Wireless Control Pad's functions are simple, specific and secure. It does not provide audio playback, and it is not a paging or intercom device. It does not use Wi-Fi and cannot connect to or access a home network or the internet, which provides dealers and homeowners increased peace of mind about the security of both the NuVo system and the home network.