Due to the announcement of the latest release by the Magic Wand Co. for the 10th Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver Universal Remote Control, I thought it would be appropriate to deliver my review of the 11th Doctor's just so you can get an idea of what to expect.
To start off, let's discuss quality and detail: The quality and detail of the remote is superb! The accuracy to the actual prop is fantastic despite minor differences (the button used to activate the LED isn't included, the ring that connects the lower half of the remote to the top is slightly larger than the original, the black screw on the bottom white casing isn't featured and the claws are a bit thinner). However, these are hardly noticeable and once you're holding the remote in your hands, you won't even acknowledge them. The materials feel and look great. The grip is actually leather and feels nice and comfy while holding it and the bronze metal gives a real authentic look to the overall piece.
The paintwork is really well done too. Giving a really good effect of battered metal along the clasps. The lower casing isn't so much as white as on the Character Options toy, but rather a cream colour very accurate to the actual prop. The emitter doesn't feature the clouded effect as the prop, however, the colour is almost an exact match to the green colour on the emitter on the original prop.
Functions: The remote is... well, a remote. So the basic functions are predictable; it's a universal remote so it can access a range of Infra-red devices such as Blu-Ray players, TV's, channel boxes, docking stations etc. All you have to do is allocate a gesture (which I'll come to in a moment) to a respective button and voilà. The remote not only does all of this, but also makes a stunning-looking prop. I can't tell you how much joy I get from just staring at it in it's display stand!
Gestures: There's a number of gestures that are used to function most commands. The remote comes with instructions to help you along but it's pretty straight forward. You can flick; up, down, left and right. You can rotate it left and right as well as thrust it forward and pull it back. Accompanying this, you can also tap the top, bottom, right and left sides. Lastly, there's a button at the bottom of the remote which is basically the on/off switch but it's also a button. You can use any one of these gestures (and the button) to whatever commands you like, although I'd recommend you keep the rotation for the volume and the button at the bottom for if your TV requires a long-press to turn on or off.
Features: No Sonic Screwdriver would be right without a Sonic Screwdriver effect. The remote features FX that are used in the show. Each FX is activated via a gesture. I won't go through all of them, but it's fairly obvious it features the traditional Sonic effect.
Now, these features are fun to play with but they can be found a bit temperamental. For example, if you flicked upward to activate one FX, then any slight flick in another direction would interrupt the previous FX with a different one. This can cause some frustration I've found and it's something that could have been easily resolved had a button been added. I got in touch with the Magic Want Co. to see if they could elaborate more on why they didn't include this. They're reply was;
"I agree that [a button] would have enabled more user-friendly functionality, especially in FX mode. The downside is, of course, that after rotating the Sonic (for example to adjust the volume on your TV), [the] button on the side might end up in a rather difficult-to-access position."
So there was a logical explanation behind it. They went on to say that they now have a better understanding of how the remote is used therefore they [were] planning on making better use of the button when it was still in the developing stage. So this problem may be averted on the 10th Doctor variant. There's also a neat little feature that consists of a morse code that can be translated into a hidden message. I've already decoded them, but if I told you... spoilers!
To finish off on the features, it's best to note that the 11th Doctor's remote doesn't extend. The reason being it would have been to costly for them to add that feature and had they done so, the retail/online price would have been higher than originally. Despite this, it still looks and feels absolutely amazing. It's also useful to note that, if you're considering the 10th Doctor's variant, it does infact extend!
The Magic Want Co. have clearly taking feedback into account have improved any negative bits and bobs with the 10th Doctor's remote. This piece is definitely amazing and the amount of detail allows it to be considered a great replica as well as being a useful remote! And the 10th Doctor variant looks to be a 100% accurate replica which also features useful functionalities. All of this for a cheap price compared to a licenced replica. I'd highly recommend you get one - either the 11th Doctor's or the 10th's - because they really are great. Even if you just want to look at it, it's fantastic and a must-have!
To start off, let's discuss quality and detail: The quality and detail of the remote is superb! The accuracy to the actual prop is fantastic despite minor differences (the button used to activate the LED isn't included, the ring that connects the lower half of the remote to the top is slightly larger than the original, the black screw on the bottom white casing isn't featured and the claws are a bit thinner). However, these are hardly noticeable and once you're holding the remote in your hands, you won't even acknowledge them. The materials feel and look great. The grip is actually leather and feels nice and comfy while holding it and the bronze metal gives a real authentic look to the overall piece.
The paintwork is really well done too. Giving a really good effect of battered metal along the clasps. The lower casing isn't so much as white as on the Character Options toy, but rather a cream colour very accurate to the actual prop. The emitter doesn't feature the clouded effect as the prop, however, the colour is almost an exact match to the green colour on the emitter on the original prop.
Functions: The remote is... well, a remote. So the basic functions are predictable; it's a universal remote so it can access a range of Infra-red devices such as Blu-Ray players, TV's, channel boxes, docking stations etc. All you have to do is allocate a gesture (which I'll come to in a moment) to a respective button and voilà. The remote not only does all of this, but also makes a stunning-looking prop. I can't tell you how much joy I get from just staring at it in it's display stand!
Gestures: There's a number of gestures that are used to function most commands. The remote comes with instructions to help you along but it's pretty straight forward. You can flick; up, down, left and right. You can rotate it left and right as well as thrust it forward and pull it back. Accompanying this, you can also tap the top, bottom, right and left sides. Lastly, there's a button at the bottom of the remote which is basically the on/off switch but it's also a button. You can use any one of these gestures (and the button) to whatever commands you like, although I'd recommend you keep the rotation for the volume and the button at the bottom for if your TV requires a long-press to turn on or off.
Features: No Sonic Screwdriver would be right without a Sonic Screwdriver effect. The remote features FX that are used in the show. Each FX is activated via a gesture. I won't go through all of them, but it's fairly obvious it features the traditional Sonic effect.
Now, these features are fun to play with but they can be found a bit temperamental. For example, if you flicked upward to activate one FX, then any slight flick in another direction would interrupt the previous FX with a different one. This can cause some frustration I've found and it's something that could have been easily resolved had a button been added. I got in touch with the Magic Want Co. to see if they could elaborate more on why they didn't include this. They're reply was;
"I agree that [a button] would have enabled more user-friendly functionality, especially in FX mode. The downside is, of course, that after rotating the Sonic (for example to adjust the volume on your TV), [the] button on the side might end up in a rather difficult-to-access position."
So there was a logical explanation behind it. They went on to say that they now have a better understanding of how the remote is used therefore they [were] planning on making better use of the button when it was still in the developing stage. So this problem may be averted on the 10th Doctor variant. There's also a neat little feature that consists of a morse code that can be translated into a hidden message. I've already decoded them, but if I told you... spoilers!
To finish off on the features, it's best to note that the 11th Doctor's remote doesn't extend. The reason being it would have been to costly for them to add that feature and had they done so, the retail/online price would have been higher than originally. Despite this, it still looks and feels absolutely amazing. It's also useful to note that, if you're considering the 10th Doctor's variant, it does infact extend!
The Magic Want Co. have clearly taking feedback into account have improved any negative bits and bobs with the 10th Doctor's remote. This piece is definitely amazing and the amount of detail allows it to be considered a great replica as well as being a useful remote! And the 10th Doctor variant looks to be a 100% accurate replica which also features useful functionalities. All of this for a cheap price compared to a licenced replica. I'd highly recommend you get one - either the 11th Doctor's or the 10th's - because they really are great. Even if you just want to look at it, it's fantastic and a must-have!