New Phillips Pronto - Neo!

[jester]

Anyone else seen the new version of the Pronto over at ...

http://www.pronto.philips.com/neo_ma.htm

What do you think of it ? Anyone seen a price ?

have just bought a 2mb Pronto from Richers BTW.

[Just]

It's a Pronto 'Light' - in other words a stripped down version for the cheaper end of the market. See www.remotecentral.com for the low down - don't worry, your Pronto 2mb was not a dumb buy.....

[JonnyO]

It doesn't seem like that to me?
Seems to be able to do most things that the old pronto can do but with some extra hard buttons and a smaller screen. However, the software for it is still very poor which stops you doing most of the old prontos most useful features. I would wait a while before investing until the software is sorted out. It will be ages before it comes to the uk anyway :(
I doubt its is aimed at the 'low end' with a US retail price of $250!

[Leigh]

I cant see it on remotecentral :confused:

Id be interested to see how much this is gonna retail for :)


Originally posted by Just
It's a Pronto 'Light' - in other words a stripped down version for the cheaper end of the market. See www.remotecentral.com for the low down - don't worry, your Pronto 2mb was not a dumb buy.....

[Spikey]

To me it looks like it is what most people really want rather than the existing Pronto.

Firstly, the extra hard buttons would answer most peoples biggest moan about the Pronto and one of the main reasons I won't buy one, and secondly, most people don't use the full power a Pronto can produce so cutting the spec shouldn't matter.

As some have said, it just needs to be priced right, the original Pronto and the 2mb one can be had with hefty reductions from list so if they can have a street price of £100 or less I reckon they will clear up, taking sales of cheaper remotes but also doing a lot of damage to the current model.

[Just]

Leigh, check this mini-preview out:

http://www.remotecentral.com/wn011016.htm

Seems like the Neo has positives and negatives against the current Prontos;

Negatives;
Smaller screen
No upload to PC
Smaller memory (it has a database, but only 1meg)
Hard buttons (if that's not your thing)

Positives;
Price ($250 is the current RRP, but this will be down a lot soon I figure)
Hard buttons (if that's your thing)

I guess Philips spotted that there was a gap in their product range for something that looked and felt more like a OFA and decided to fill it. The Neo only took 6 months from first drawing to production run apparently.

[Leigh]

Thanks for that ;), i see the screen resoultion is less as well

[kcxdev]

didn't the US spec pronto have a database, and the UK not?

[Just]

Originally posted by kcxdev
didn't the US spec pronto have a database, and the UK not?

Yep, the 2mb Pronto in the US (the TSU2000) did have a database, whereas the European one (the RU940) didn't have it.

The original 1mb Pronto didn't have a database in either the UK (RU890) or the US (TSU1000) versions.

This could mean that the Neo won't have the database when released to Europe, which has to be a good thing as 1mb - the database reduces the space quite a bit.

[Bapapapa]

Originally posted by kcxdev
didn't the US spec pronto have a database, and the UK not?

With the amount of .ccf files on Remote Central a database is pretty useless anyway.

BTW, this remote looks interesting...

http://www.remotecentral.com/wn000047.jpg

Marantz RC9200/5200 (http://www.remotecentral.com/wn010904.htm)

[rooo]

Anyone know when it's out in the UK?

[Just]

Try sending a mail to Mike at Letsautomate, he will be happy to give you any info he has if you are seriously interested in getting one when it appears;

mikeh@letsautomate.com

[Leigh]

With the amount of .ccf files on Remote Central a database is pretty useless anyway.

ah but the pronto *.ccf files dont work on the Neo, it got its own file format *.ncf i think :), so time to design your own buttons ;)

[JonnyO]

Originally posted by Just
Try sending a mail to Mike at Letsautomate, he will be happy to give you any info he has if you are seriously interested in getting one when it appears;

mikeh@letsautomate.com

Wouldn't bother. I had already done that and he doesn't know much about it as yet.

[Confucius]

The 9200 is pretty much Marantz's version of the ProntoPro, albeit with a few extra features. US$ retail will be about $1300, perhaps retailing closer to $1000 - ProntoPro retail is $1000 but sells for between 7 and 800.

I would expect the Marantz to hit the US markets after Christmas, perhaps following in the UK in late spring.