If you’re looking for an Android TV dongle, you’ll no doubt need a remote to interact with your now-smart TV. The question is, what type of remote will work best for your situation?
Android TV Remote Control Prepackaged
Most HDMI and USB TV dongle packages come with their own remote controls, making them the ideal solutions for working with an Android media dongle. These look a lot like your standard TV remote: rectangular blocks with various buttons for you to play with.
This is a simple solution that gets the job done, although manipulating Android’s media interface can be quite cumbersome. This is especially true when entering text and numbers, which involves pressing a lot of fiddly buttons. Stick with this solution if you want to keep costs down and are willing to put up with a somewhat cumbersome entry.
Android-based remote applications
Many dongles have an app for Android smartphones and tablets. All you need to do is install the right app and voila, your nifty tablet or smartphone is now a TV remote! The phone’s virtual keyboard also makes entering text much easier, which solves another big headache. You can even install apps that allow a streaming TV dongle to send video to your Android device.
The downside to using these devices, however, is that you’ll often need wireless Internet access for the setup to work. You also need to be very careful when using your smartphone or tablet as a remote control. Dropping and breaking a twenty or thirty dollar remote control is nothing compared to dropping and breaking a device worth a few hundred dollars.
Specialized Android TV remote controllers
There are remote controllers that are specifically designed to work seamlessly with the average dongle. These come with their own keyboards for typing text, Bluetooth systems for connecting without Internet access, and miniature touch screens (or pads) for selecting larger tiles on the computer screen with pinpoint precision.
It goes without saying that you’ll have to invest a little more money in these dedicated Android TV controllers, but the resulting increase in ergonomics will make the purchase worthwhile. This is the option for those who are willing to invest in a solid and reliable control system to go along with their Android TV dongle.
Voice and gesture controllers
Major tech companies like Microsoft, Samsung, Sony, and Google are pushing voice and gesture-based technology into the average home. There are already a few examples of smart TVs that you can manipulate using voice commands and hand gestures. It’s just going to take a bit of time for that technology to become available for the average Android TV dongle setup.
Such technology is not yet mature enough to be useful to today’s consumer; however, if reliability and usability issues are overcome, voice and gestures will be an excellent, if somewhat expensive, method of manipulating the user interface of the average Android TV device.
Keep this in mind and you should be able to find the perfect control setup for your Android TV dongle!