ONE FOR ALL KAMELEON 8 Universal Remote Control

by One For All

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 14 x 4 x 7 inches ; 2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0009X5Y54
• Item model number: URC9964
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 11, 2005

Product Description

Replaces up to 8 Remotes / Glow in Dark Display / Learning Capable / 4 User Defined Macros / 2 Auxiliary Keys

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great concept, but..., January 11, 2006

By 

Kristopher Cargile (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: ONE FOR ALL KAMELEON 8 Universal Remote Control (Electronics)

I too like the concept of this remote. The execution, however, leaves something to be desired.

Major Dissapointments:

1) The motion-sensing on/off is really neat, but I was unable to sucessfully reprogram the time delay - this usually causes the remote to turn off while I am fumbling around for the correct button.

2) The ergonomics aren't so good. Because there is no tactile feel to the remote, its nearly impossible to use without looking directly at it.

3) The resolution of the buttons is suspect. This means that often when I am expecting to press "Ok", I get the ">" or something similar.

4) There is a "sticky" feel to the buttons. This does not go away with usage, and it makes the remote distractingly audible.

5) Unknow black substance has infiltrated some of the keys (under the outer membrane) after 60 days use. These keys are now unreadable.

6) Phone-based updates do not work via a cell phone. This won't be an issue if you still have a land-line, but for those of us who don't it's a terrible inconvenience.

There are some good points, however:

1) The programming codes work as promised. I must admit that I was skeptical at first, but all of my devices (some very old, some brand new) were sucessfully added to the remote. Initial setup took less than 20 minutes.

2) Possibly for the first time ever in the history of man, a consumer electronic device has shipped with useful documentation. The Kameleon's documentation is balanced and informative.

3) Decent value (I purchased on sale at Amazon for $50).

All-in-all, I would say that this is a decent product. I'd recommend, however, that you carefully weigh other options before you purchase - there seem to be better offerings available at a similar price point.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Use ANYTHING other than this remote., April 12, 2007

By 

Steven A. Godun "sgodun" (North Brunswick, NJ) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: ONE FOR ALL KAMELEON 8 Universal Remote Control (Electronics)

As others have suggested, the concept of this remote is a good one: Only show the buttons needed to control that particular device, and only show them when you're actually using the device. Sounds good, right? Too bad it doesn't really work so well in practice.

In fairness, I have to point out the good things first. The buttons are well-lit and easy to understand. When the remote DOES work (more on that later) it works very well. It doesn't suck up batteries like some other devices I've had. It's fairly comfortable in the hand and quite easy to program; it will even learn codes for devices that it doesn't already know about. The back has a nice rubbery grippy feel to it, and because the surface has no physical buttons it's very easy to keep clean.

That about wraps up the good stuff. How bad is this remote? Let me tell you about my experiences with it. The first one I bought was DOA, and Amazon replaced it. The second one worked for a month before dying. Amazon replaced that one too. The third one worked for a shade over two months -- and that's when I ran into my first problem: THIS REMOTE HAS A TRULY PATHETIC 90 DAY WARRANTY, and THE WARRANTY STARTS AT THE MOMENT OF PURCHASE EVEN IF IT WAS REPLACED TWICE BEFORE. So even though I believed I was paying fifty bucks for a remote, I was actually buying an expensive piece of useless plastic.

The manufacturer's customer support is HORRIBLE. They are based in Hong Kong and have no offices here; their only distributor is based in Kentucky and they list no phone number to contact them. (Some Googling will reveal the number, however.) If you DO manage to contact them via phone, you will be greeted with the World's Most Irritated Employees -- or at least that's what they sound like. They will tell you in no uncertain terms that you shouldn't be calling them for technical support on an out-of-warranty product, and you'll be stonewalled.

They do offer email support, but unfortunately their email support 'team' only seems to work every third day and NEVER reads the entire email that you send to them, often asking you for information that you've already provided (in fact, information that they've even quoted in their reply). And that's assuming that they even respond at all. I've waited as long as two weeks (sending my email every other day) for a single response, which ultimately was completely useless and irrelevant to my situation.

The manufacturer's web site claims that, quote, "Our 'Number 1' status Worldwide reflects our commitment to excellence." In my experience, 'number 1' is just about the only thing I'd like to do to this remote and the company that makes it. If Amazon would have let me I would have given this product a "-27 stars" rating. I would rather have a hot lead enema than buy another One For All product.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kameleon URC-9964, January 11, 2006

By 

Humberto Espinosa (Miami, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: ONE FOR ALL KAMELEON 8 Universal Remote Control (Electronics)

Excellent remote control! 1)If you want to save battery, just turn off the vibration switch: SET UP - OTHER - 9 8 5 - HOME.

2)If you want adjust the screen light... "longer" (4,8,12,16 or 20 seconds): SET UP - OTHER - 9 7 8 - #1 for 4 seconds, #2 for 8, #3 for 12, #4 for 16 and #5 for 20 them press HOME.

3) You can use the learning key program if you want to add an option from your old remote control to the Kameleon and it's so easy to do it.

4) You can also program that all your devices (no more than 7) turns on or turns off at the same time.

I highly recommend!!!!