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Featuring voice recognition, the new remote is smaller than Dish's earlier remotes, and has backlighting and a touchpad.

Executive Editor David Carnoy has been a leading member of CNET's Reviews team since 2000. He covers the gamut of gadgets and is a notable reviewer of mobile accessories and portable audio products, including headphones and speakers. He's also an e-reader and e-publishing expert as well as the author of the novels Knife Music, The Big Exit and Lucidity. All the titles are available as Kindle, iBooks, Nook e-books and audiobooks.

Dish's Voice Remote, announced back in January at CES in Las Vegas, is now a reality.

Available to Hopper 3 and 4K Joey customers for $30, the remote allows you to navigate, search and select programming using spoken commands. You can also change channels and record shows using your voice.

It's similar to voice remotes for the Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV . But it's a little more sophisticated, acting as a universal remote and including a clickable touchpad with an illuminated numeric mode and back lighting.

The Voice Remote can control up to two IR devices (TV/AUX models). New and existing Hopper 3 and 4K Joey customers can purchase the Voice Remote by calling 1-800-333-DISH or visiting dish.com.