What happens when you install the new Logitech Squeezebox Remote app from the Android Marketplace and proceed to play around with the interface from a remote location? You scare the pants off anybody who’s still at home and wondering why the little radio box is suddenly playing music all by itself*. That’s what happened this afternoon when I decided to test out the new Android app despite not being anywhere near my Squeezebox. The app loaded beautifully, and apparently it had no trouble communicating with my player. Here’s the text message I received from home shortly afterward: “Your squeezebox just came on by itself. #afraidtogodownstairs”
I can’t speak to the in-home experience yet, as I’m still on the road, but the Squeezebox Remote interface on my phone is a joy. The Home screen gives me access to a full menu of Internet radio stations, apps, my music library, search, and Squeezebox settings. Through my apps I can get directly to Slacker (my preferred Internet radio service), and instantly into my saved stations and songs. The songs don’t play on my phone – the app’s not designed for that – but they do apparently play without problem from the Squeezebox.
Ordinarily I wouldn’t see the purpose of using a secondary phone remote to control one of my devices, but this one has an interface that not only beats my existing remote, but beats the interface on the Squeezebox display itself. After all, my beloved Squeezebox Classic is from 2006, which means it doesn’t have the visual bells and whistles present on some of the newer products in the Squeezebox line. And that brings me to another point. The new Logitech app works on a piece of hardware I’ve had for more than four years. Given how rapidly smartphone companies give up on supporting their handsets with new upgrades, I find myself continually amazed to see this little Internet-radio-streamer-that-could still getting feature updates. Kudos to the product team for that one.
The Logitech Squeezebox Remote app runs on Android 2.1 and higher, and supports:
*Note: Oddly enough, my Squeezebox does occasionally turn on at home without any human intervention, but it usually doesn’t skip around through different stations and playlists.