COFFEE-TABLE CLUTTER KILLER
Philips’ popular Pronto lineup of handheld touchscreen remote controls covers a
broad range of price points, all the way up to a fancy tablet model that lists
for around $1,700. The Pronto advantage is that the remote’s look and feel can
be customized via a PC editing program, allowing users to change the button
layouts and graphic elements as they please, and swap graphics and configuration
files with other Pronto owners via fansites on the Internet, such as
www.remotecentral.com.
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In addition to the touchscreen, the RC9800i comes with hard buttons for volume
control, channel up/down, and satellite or cable program guide surfing. This is
handy when you don’t want to look at the remote. |
The RC9800i
isn’t from the Pronto family, however, and is targeted toward a different
customer, someone who just wants a universal remote that operates their media
system and other audio and video equipment elsewhere in the home, and doesn’t
want to be bothered grappling with PC software to get the remote configured for
their particular setup. What also sets the RC9800i apart from other touchpad
remotes is its WiFi wireless connectivity that provides some useful advantages
in a networked home environment.
The remote itself is a stylish affair, with
a number of hard buttons and a cursor/ enter control on the right of the unit
alongside the 3-inch color touchscreen. The hard buttons provide direct control
of typically used functions such as volume and channel control, with the
touchscreen buttons providing the rest of the control functions. As is typical
with learning remotes, the RC9800i can learn command codes by placing other
remote controls head-to-head with it, but that can be a tiresome process
especially if there are more than a few components’ code sets to
learn.
Instead, I used the RC9800i’s automated learning wizard that, along
with a supplied PDA-style plastic stylus, walked me through a Q&A session.
With a virtual keyboard and number pad on the touchscreen, I identified my
system’s components by brand and model number and the remote searched its
surprisingly large internal library of remote command codes. The remote then
does a short test to ensure the correct codes have been chosen, and even
provides for power on or standby and discrete power on and off commands.
