Hot Button Issue

A clicker addresses the gender divide

July 23, 2007—As pointed out by this really funny comic we saw once, men and women have different habits when it comes to the remote control. Amazingly, no one has designed a device around this observation—until now. Reminiscent of the towels in your parents' bathroom, the new Philips SRU-8010 universal remote comes equipped with buttons labeled "HIS" and "HERS." Each activates a custom lineup of up to 100 favorite channels (bound to be completely—and hilariously—different). Available now for a very reasonable 90 bucks, the thing also features a built-in "wizard" to help you program up to ten individual devices, plus an LCD screen that displays network logos rather than those mentally taxing channel numbers. But back to that his and hers thing: what about Chandler and Joey situations? No problem, says Philips product manager Andre Lelande: "In a fraternity or other setting with multiple guys, the 'HERS' button will be the one that will be different and will stand out." Our fraternity days are a bit foggy, but we're not sure that rings entirely true. In any case, Lelande says future models may go with a more generic "USER 1" and "USER 2" scheme, so grab one—and call dibs—now.

Philips SRU-8010, $90, www.philips.com