Cheap XBMC remote control

The Telegraph: KAZAM releases phones for under £40. http://google.com/newsstand/s/CBIww7b1nB8

The Trooper X 3.5 retailing at £39.95 could make an ideal XBMC remote control once Yatse is installed. Especially if it could be placed on a charging dock overnight.

What remote are you using with Kodi?

As mentioned in a previous post the Yatse app for Android has really impressed me and I've been using it as my main remote control for Kodi.

However, it may not be perfect for everyday use as I've regularly been running down my phone's battery, which is not ideal as it then needs plugging in to a charger, which then means it's not accessible as a remote control.

So, what is everyone using as their primary remote control for Kodi? I wonder whether the Logitech K400 keyboard is a viable alternative - it is smaller than a full size keyboard and includes a trackpad. I wonder whether it would be too unwieldy for day-to-day use though...

I've read about Logitech Harmony remotes, but am concerned about reports of button lag. Does anyone have any experience of using one of these with Kodi?

Maybe I should just nab a Microsoft MCE remote control for £20?

Please do comment on how you are connecting to Kodi.

Yatse - XBMC/Kodi remote control app

I've been using Yatse remote control for several days now, and I'm impressed.

Yatse is an Android app which allows you to use your Android device as a smart remote control for XBMC. It stands for Yet Another Touch Screen Experiment.

The free version is very full-featured: it allows you to do what you expect i.e. control the cursor in XBMC and make selections, but also displays info on what you are watching (i.e. displays info, posters, fanart on the remote/Android device), allows you to search your media collection using your Android device, control several different XBMC devices independently of each other (all within the same WiFi zone), amongst many other things.

As mentioned, you get all this for free. There is another app from the same developer (Tolriq) called Yatse Unlocker which is £3.49 from the Play store, and this goes even further, allowing you to send your videos to XBMC, stream videos to watch on your Android device, download your media to your Android device for offline viewing.

You really do need to try it to see how slick it is. I briefly tried the official XBMC remote, but couldn't get it working. Because Yatse was so straightforward to set up and works so well, and seems to win when reviewed and compared against other remotes, I'll be sticking with it.