Here's another look at our wireless CD-i Commander, a pointing device for use with CD-i players but which was never officially released. It was planned to be released in 1996, but by that time the decision was already made to stop new developments in CD-i. That's a pity, as this CD-i pointing device had high potential. It combines a trackerball with the wireless thumbstick. It also offers control buttons to play audio cd's as well as the possibility to control the volume. One of the other new features was the rechargeable battery inside. This was going to be the first CD-i pointing device that has a built-in rechargeable battery, there was also a docking system designed for this CD-i Commander but we have never seen a picture of it unfortunately. The rechargeable battery was not in the same shape as regular batteries (so it was not possible to simply change it with regular batteries). This is why our prototype unfortunately doesn't function anymore, unfortunately. But we like the innovative design, we've never seen anything like this before, not even on other consoles later in time.
"The prototype you see on these pictures actually would have come into production were it not that at that time the decision already had been taken to stop future developments in CD-i. The prototype we have actually is a sample of the second Trial Run. In parallel with the controller a docking station was developed to charge the batteries. This controller was designed on one hand to better meet gamers’ requirements whilst at the same time it also could be used for generic CD-i purposes, like with the first set of CD-i controllers. The device also has been designed symmetrically in view of persons that are left handed."
"The Commander might look a bit awkward, as its tip containing the IR transmitter points down. As this is unusual in the world of remote control, it needs a bit of elucidation. During various tests over time with consumer behaviour I always noticed that people tend to bend their hand down in which they hold a remote control and "shoot" at the set. CD-i however, because of its interactive nature, requires bending your hand in that position for quite a long time. And that is inconvenient as you tend to overstrain. In the designing stage I requested our design people to modify the shape of the Commander and put the nose under an angle of approx, 30° downwards."
[Quotes by Peer Custers]