A system and methods for a media center controller. The system and methods include a computing device having a user dialog manager to process commands and input for controlling one or more controlled devices of the media center. The system and methods includes the capability to receive and respond to commands and input from a variety of sources, including spoken commands from a user, for remotely controlling one or more electronic devices and to perform, in response to the input received from the handheld device, speech recognition processing, voice over Internet Protocol communications, instant messaging, electronic mail messaging, or control of one or more controlled devices. The system and methods may also include a user interaction device capable of receiving spoken user input and transferring the spoken input to the computing device.