RedEye Mini Headphone Jack Dongle Turns Any iPhone, iPod Touch, Or iPad Into A Universal Remote
March 2, 2010
ThinkFlood's first RedEye infrared controller for the iPhone and iPod touch was kind of neat but somewhat inconvenient and expensive. Their second attempt, however, looks to be a much more practical and affordable solution for controlling all of your home infrared devices and it's called the RedEye mini.
The RedEye mini fits somewhere between Power A's Universal Remote Case and the L5 Remote. It's a dongle like the L5 Remote, but instead of taking up your 30 pin connector it uses your device's headphone jack, allowing you to charge your device while controlling your TV, receiver, Blu-ray player, or what have you. Since it uses a headphone jack, it is also capable of supporting multiple devices, unlike Power A's Universal Remote Case. Better yet, you won't have to flip your device upside down to use it.
The RedEye mini can be configured and controlled via ThinkFlood's free RedEye iPhone app. The app features a "robust" database of manufacturer-supplied infrared codes for easy set up, or you can train the remote with commands from existing remotes. It also features customizable controls, allowing you to assign multi-touch gestures and accelerometer recognized movements to certain functions, such as two-finger swiping to change the volume.
The app offers up the ability to control virtually an unlimited number of devices and basically an unlimited number of commands. It also sports an integrated electronic program guide that allows you to access program and channel information on the device instead of displaying it on the TV screen.
ThinkFlood's RedEye mini should be available through the company's website this spring for $49.