Remote Controlling your Home from your Android

I manage the marketing department for a home automation company in Utah. We install awesome stuff like home theaters, media distribution systems, and security systems. We have some really cool news for us Android users interested in home control.

Home Control with iOS

Before now, all the home automation companies were going crazy about how awesome it was to control your home from your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. This always irked me because of my hatred of my iPod touch and my wife’s iPhone. It was so cool because you could literally control your home’s lighting, thermostat, blinds, door locks, hot tub, and almost anything else you can think of from your iOS device. Buying a $100 app from the iTunes store replaced a $2,000 specialty remote control (and it could still play Angry Birds!).

I would always tell my clients about the progress, but kept a little wish in my heart that Android would eventually get the same functionality. Crestron, the standard in home automation, showed off an Android version of their control software at the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association show in September of 2010. They even hinted that we’d get full Android support early this year. It’s coming in Q2!

The Economic Shift

I keep getting antsier, reading articles saying that total Android devices now outnumber iOS devices, and total adviews on Android surpass those on iOS systems. I know that when that shift occurs, app developers are going to flock to Android in droves. That economic shift bodes very well for my desire to control the various functions of my home from my Droid X.

For those of you who are proud Android users and long for some of the functionality of iOS devices, just hold on a little bit longer. Apps developers will always develop on the operating systems that are going to net them the greatest sales potential. Am I saying that developers will abandon the iOS platform completely? Of course not. What I am saying is that the advantage that Apple systems once had – the claim of over 300,000 apps in the iTunes store will tip in favor of the Android marketplace eventually.

So once you can use your Android as a remote for your home theater, to change the music in your whole-home audio system, disarm your security system, and change your accent lighting on your countertops, what else would you ever want from your Android device?

Of course, if you’re in the area, and you’re interested in a Utah security system, home theater, or home automation system, feel free to check us out.