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Forbes’ Elizabeth Woyke recently reported that a string of well know companies will introduce a range of Android powered household gadgets before the end of the year. These new touch screen devices will range from 4.3 to 10 inches and will be connected to your home wireless network. The new gadgets can be divided into three categories:

1. Home control gadgets (or as PC World’s JR Raphael says, “super sweet remotes”) for things like HVAC, lights, and security
2. Media control gadgets for A/V equipment like TVs, DVD players, stereos and DVRs
3. Smartphones for home, which will give you access to VoIP through a cordless and even run apps like games or digital photo frames

Woyke called this news “a sign that Google’s Android mobile platform has a future far beyond cell phones.” This is particularly interesting to us because we’re wondering why all of this additional hardware is even necessary. Sure, it’s cool to think about living somewhere with multiple touch screens that allow you to control everything from the temperature of your home to what shows your DVR will record.  But why invest in new hardware when you could simply use a cell phone as your interface for all that control?

The most amusing part of all of this is the fact that MC Hammer somehow got swirled into the story. Thomas Riker’s Engadget post about the coming Android Touch Revolution devices featured a recycled, candid photo of MC Hammer and Touch Revolution vice president of marketing Bill Brown at CES 2009. It wasn’t until we did a little more research that we realized MC Hammer has nothing to do with any of this. Others were apparently just as confused as we were… Thank goodness GottaBeMobile.com cleared things up, and managed to extend Hammer Time for everyone.