Onkyo Remote App for Android launched: Ditch the remote

Audio specialist Onkyo demonstrated its interest in the mobile phone market yesterday, launching an app for Android phones to let you control Onkyo hardware from the comfort of your sofa. It’s worth checking out if you do have an Onkyo gadget – if nothing else it means you can ditch the remote control and it’s one thing less to buy batteries for.

With a host of wireless radios built in, big colour touchscreens, and the ability to download apps whenever you want, the latest smartphones are the perfect devices to replace remote controls. Onkyo certainly seems to think so, and has released a free Android app to control a range of Onkyo devices.
There are other reasons that mobile phones make good remotes, too, not least the ability to change which buttons carry out different functions (try changing what different buttons do on a remote control with traditional hardware buttons!), or the fact you can simply plug in your phone to charge it up again. It’s also a lot easier to ring the phone when you lose it – something you can’t easily do with a remote control.

Along with controlling devices with your Android phone, you’ll also be able to stream music straight to networked Onkyo stereos. Currently compatible with the Onkyo TX-8050 stereo network receiver, the Remote App for Android will also work with all of Onkyo’s network receivers released in 2011.