Philips unveiled the RC9800i touchscreen remote control, allowing you to control legacy and networked A/V devices. So how does it work? The RC9800i "learns" the functions of a remote control belonging to your audio/video equipment and determines its brand. Then, after training it with remote controls, the RC9800i becomes the central remote combining all activities for simpler control.

The Philips RC9800i also comes with an integrated Wi-Fi adapter (now why am I not surprised about this?), you can also use it to access content from your desktop or the net and distribute it to other Wi-Fi enabled devices. The device is sleek-looking, and at first looks, seems to have a limited set of buttons so the new user will not find it daunting to re-learn old tricks.

A universal remote of sorts, this one's always welcome in my house. The other universal remote I have comes on my IR-enabled smartphone.

Priced at US $599 (a tad expensive, but worth the money for its features), more info about the Philips RC9800i touchscreen remote control is available from Philips.

(Via A/V Revolution)