Computer Mouse Controlling Apps

Use Your iPhone As A Mouse (And More)

Overview

Instead of buying an expensive wireless mouse for your PC or Mac or your Media PC, why not spend a few bucks on an iPhone app that can do it for you?

Essential Apps

$1.99
Mobile Mouse (Remote/Mouse/Trackpad/Keyboard)

by R.P.A. Tech

A very full-featured iPhone app. You can do anything you could do with a normal mouse and keyboard, plus lots, lots more. You can use it like a Wii remote and control the pointer with a flick of your wrist, you can use the built-in keyboard to type things. The application switcher is great, no more navigating to the taskbar or dock on your PC, it supports multitouch gestures, and it has a special mode for using it as a Keynote/Powerpoint remote. Honestly, the list is almost inexhaustible. It works on all recent versions of OS X (from Tiger to Lion) and the same for Windows (from XP to 7, both x64 and x86) with the free companion software available from their website. This app would be perfect for someone looking for a multimedia remote, as it has a multimedia mode built in, as well as assignable hot-keys. It works very smoothly and has a very quick response time on my 802.11n network, and is still very usable on 802.11b/g.
$3.99
JumiDesktop+

by JumiTech

This app offers every feature you would expect, media remote, multitouch, keyboard etc., but its killer feature is its desktop viewer. You can login into your PC from your iPhone and view what's on the desktop as well as interacting with it. It works over 3G too, so you could leave a long download on and check on it while you're out of the house, remotely fix your family members' computers (no more 2 hour phone calls whilst you patiently try to explain the problem to them), and much more. The possibilities are almost endless. Unfortunately this app is PC only, it won't work on Macs of any OS X version.
$4.99
HippoRemote Pro ~ Wireless Keyboard, Mouse, Remote Control & Gamepad

by RoboHippo LLC

Another app with lots of features. In addition to the mouse and keyboard control, it also has a gamepad to let you play all your favourite PC games (or solitaire or whatever on a Mac). It also lets you record macros, to automate tasks (eg. opening iTunes and changing song etc.). You can also control popular media applications such as Boxee, Plex, and XBMC with gestures. This app also works with Linux, something many other apps don't do.
$7.99
Remote HD

by App Dynamic

Lots of features in this app. It merges a VNC app and a remote app into one, and does both very well. Has multitouch support and a gesture pad which comes in handy. It has an Apple remote-like multimedia controller which is very nice to use, and support for all popular multimedia applications on both Windows and OS X. If you lock your PC, you can also have the app send you a push notification if someone tries to log on to your PC while you're away. A cool thing to do with this app is browse flash content, just load the site up on your PC and you can watch it through the VNC feature. I'd only recommend doing this over WiFi though, it tends to get quite sluggish if you view it over 3G or EDGE.

Notable Apps

$1.99
Remote Mouse

by Zeng Rong

This app is quite simple, it offers a trackpad and a keyboard, but it is very accurate and fast. Works on all recent versions of both OS X and Windows. Supports multitouch gestures for scrolling and right click, and is very easy to use.
Free
Mobile Mouse (Remote/Mouse/Trackpad) FREE

by R.P.A. Tech

Offers a lot of the functionality of its full version, but lacks: Retina support, tech support, the accelerometer support, application switcher, media remote, and some other features. Still a great app, but I'd recommend the full version, because for not much more money you get many more features.
$4.99
Rowmote Pro: Remote Control for Mac

by Evan Schoenberg

This is a very cool app. It mimics the functionality of the Apple remote that used to come with Macs, and it's a universal app, so will work on your iPhone, iPod and iPad with just one purchase. It allows you to control many applications with tailored on screen remotes, and is a must have for someone who uses their Mac as their media hub. It also works with Apple TVs, helpful if you lose the tiny remote it comes with. Unfortunately this app is Mac only, and works from 10.4-10.7.

Decent Apps

Free
Touch Mouse

by Logitech Inc.

Not too many features, but the ones it offers are executed well. It offers multitouch support with support for up to 3 buttons, and an onscreen keyboard for text entry. It works on both Mac and Windows PCs.
$2.99
All-in-one WiFiRemote

by mbpowertools

This app has tailored remotes for applications such as Windows Media Player, iTunes and Front Row, and it also has full Chinese handwriting recognition. Not something I use, but I'm sure its useful to some people. Unless you do a lot of writing in Chinese on your computers, I'd recommend going for another app over this one. This app works on both OS X and Windows.
$4.99
Control! Mac - Remote Control, File Browsing and Video Streaming for Macintosh

by BananaGlue GmbH

This Mac only app offers basic control over your Mac, and lets you stream video to your iPhone with on-the-fly decoding. Other apps do this better though, and this app only works on Macs, no Windows or Linux support.
Free
Splashtop Touchpad

by Splashtop Inc.

Offers basic touchpad and keyboard support, no fancy remotes here, but a very elegant and simple UI and UX give it a polished feel.