Some have heralded the newly released (from beta) R2 Android app as a game-changer. In fact, Blake Krikorian, the creator of the app, is quoted as saying that it “literally changes everything”. It is certainly a big step in the right direction for Crestron. At its core, though, R2 is essentially Crestron’s Mobile Pro for the Android market. In other words, you have the same feature set that Crestron provides in their current mobile solution. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that for Android, the R2 app is the only currently available solution; and that’s very exciting. Either way, Crestron has made it clear that they are committed to providing an open system for mobile integration on their control systems.
Jetson supports all three solutions for mobile Crestron control: Crestron’s Mobile Pro, R2, and Command Fusion’s iViewer for our dealers. Each solution has its place, and we typically recommend the best option on a per-project basis. Consider this the first post of a series comparing the various solutions. We’ll take a look at usability features, technical features, and the implementation hurdles that each present.
The R2 announcement is further evidence that Crestron has indeed embraced the mobile platform as a legitimate way to interact with their control systems. In creating a flexible system, Crestron has allowed companies like Command Fusion and id8 Group to innovate on their platform.