Sonos Ditches Hardware Remote In Favor Of Apps
Out with the old, in with the slightly-less-old
Sonos is ditching its dedicated CR200 remote control in favor of mobile apps. According to Sonos boss John MacFarlane, this was the plan all along. Now, though, there are enough people with smartphones and tablets to finally make the hardware controller obsolete.
The CR200 is a $350 touchscreen device that does one thing: control the multi-room wireless streaming Sonos boxes in your home. Compare this to an iPod Touch, a $200 device which does this and a lot more, and which fits in your pocket. Or the iPad 2, which costs just $50 more.
It seems pretty clear why Sonos would drop its own controller. After all, what’s the point of it anymore when anyone can just run the free app instead?
The CR200 will officially cease sales on June 1st, will carry a two-year warranty, and will receive software updates for some time to come.
- Via the Verge
Charlie Sorrel sits in his gadget nerve-center in Barcelona, Spain, and spits out words about various weird plastic widgets while the sun shines outside his iCave. Previously found at Wired.com's Gadget Lab covering cameras, power cables and sneaking in as much Apple-centric coverage as he could, Charlie spends his rare moments outside perched atop a bicycle and snapping photos. You can follow him on Twitter via 
