Comparison

R2 Touch vs zComms

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

R2 Touch

This app serves as a remote control for R2-D2 replica robots equipped with specific receiver boards. It allows users to control various droid functions like dome panels, holoprojectors, sounds, and lighting. Users can upload their own sound files for playback and customize button commands.

Highlights
  • Control dome panels, holoprojectors, sounds, and lighting
  • Upload custom sound files
  • Programmable ASCII string commands
  • WiFi and serial output options
  • Customizable buttons
  • R2-D2 inspired interface
Features
Read full description

This is a remote control app for members of the R2 Builders Club. Apart from looking pretty, and playing sounds (if you upload them to the application), it doesn't do anything unless you are building an R2-D2 replica robot and have MarcDuino receiver boards (as described in www.marcduino.com and on my build log on Astromech.net). If you do, lucky you, it will allow you to control the dome panels, holoprojectors, sounds and dome lighting of your Droid in all sorts of interesting ways. You can see a demo of how it works with my R2 here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUod3LRQ1DI The app can run all the way down to iOS 8 on an iPhone 4S. The app doesn't include any sounds by default. If you want sounds to play directly from the app or through Bluetooth, you must upload your own sounds files to the App using iTunes. The sound files are typically the exact same you'd use in your remote sound system of the robot such as my MP3Trigger setup (described on www.marcduino.com). Commands, in the form of programmable short ASCII strings, are sent via the internal WiFi iPhone radio to a remote WiFly receiver. Alternately, the app also generates a 9600 baud serial output stream on the earphone audio port. This way you can send serial command to an external XBee transmitter radio for a more reliable link. You'll need a small level adapter board to use the audio serial capability, also on www.curiousmarc.com. Since you can customize most buttons and commands, you could also use this as a generic remote control app to send any short serial string via WiFi (to a WiFly radio fore example) or serial link (through an XBee). And with a spiffy R2-D2 inspired interface to boot!

About

zComms

Transform your Ness security panel into a smart home hub. This application enables Z-Wave device control and push notifications through your mobile device via a Ness Z-Wave Gateway.

Highlights
  • Z-Wave device control
  • Smart home integration
  • Push notifications
  • Rule engine for automation
  • Remote access via mobile
Features
Read full description

Ness zComms turns your Ness D8 / D16 Security Panels into a smart home with Z-Wave Control. This app talks though the Ness Z-Wave Gateway to give your D8 / D16 alarm panel Z-Wave control with your mobile device. zComms has a simple and powerful rule engine to control your Z-Wave devices and receive push notifications over the internet. * Requires D8 / D16 version firmware 7.8 or above for D8/D16 integration. * Requires Ness IP232 Module (101-244) configured to your D8 / D16 for panel to work with app. Not included or supplied with Ness Z-Wave Gateway or App.

Screenshots

R2 Touch4 screens
zComms4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: R2 Touch at 80% against zComms's 33%. R2 Touch also leads on iOS requirement (8.0 vs 12.0). zComms's advantage is price (Free vs $5.99) and update cadence (monthly vs every 10 months). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

zComms is free to download; R2 Touch costs $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

R2 Touch ships an update every 10 months, zComms monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
R2 Touch versus zComms: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterR2 TouchzComms
Price$5.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (9 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews — better33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings9 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 10 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB178 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNeil HutchisonNess Corporation Pty Limited

Customer experience

R2 Touch

All ratings9 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative10.0%

zComms

Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral33.3%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

None

R2 Touch

No in-app purchases

None

zComms

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is R2 Touch free?
R2 Touch costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is zComms free?
zComms is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do R2 Touch or zComms have ads?
Neither R2 Touch nor zComms shows ads.
Which is updated more often, R2 Touch or zComms?
R2 Touch ships an update every 10 months, and zComms monthly. Most recently, R2 Touch was updated on October 9, 2026 and zComms on September 23, 2026.

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