I don’t know who exactly needs this but a Japanese company called ELPA (official slogan: “We develop a useful commodity for life”) thinks a remote control with a built-in speaker is what we all have been waiting for.

The RC-25SP [JP] consists of a terribly ugly remote control, a pop-up mini speaker (1W) and a receiver unit. ELPA says it’s useful for the living room when you watch TV with your family, in the bed room so neighbors aren’t disturbed during night time or if you need to listen to what comes out of the TV with the main speakers muted (for example, when a baby sleeps near the TV and you do kitchen work far away from the tube).

This may not be as stupid as it sounds but the device is pretty heavy at 240g and looks totally unergonomic. The brick costs $40 and is Japan-only.

Via Japan Today