Gizmodo: apple remote

New iMac Finally Gets Matching Apple Remote

Wilson Rothman — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:11:52 EDT

New iMacs come with a long overdue (optional) Apple Remote that befits their design—gray and black rather than shiny white. It's $19 whether you buy the iMac or not. Now, about those black iPhone earbuds... [Apple Store]

Apple Patent Specs Wii-Like Controller For Apple TV

John Mahoney — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 12:00:00 EDT

Of all the things wrong with the Apple TV, its awkward control scheme via the Apple Remote is pretty niggling, but a recently published patent shows a new motion-sensing controller potentially in the works.

As with all patent filings, this could be something or it could be nothing, but it would make sense as a way to add a trackable cursor to the Apple TV for quickly browsing through Coverflow, zooming in and out of photos and easier typing on an onscreen keyboard.

But like we said before, Apple's got a lot of other things to fix with the Apple TV besides the controller interface. [Apple Insider]

Rowmote Brings Apple's Front Row Remote to the iPhone (Unofficially)

Mark Wilson — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 11:00:00 EST

A new iPhone app called Rowmote can control Front Row, Quicktime, DVD Player, iTunes and Keynote, just like Apple's IR Remote, but over wi-fi.

Apple's IR Remote is fine, but it's easy to lose and needs line-of-sight. Apple's Remote app may still be the slickest iPhone application yet, but it only controls iTunes. Rowmote obviously solves all of these issues.

So there must be a catch, right, for a third party to one-up Apple at their own remote game? Well, there are actually two catches. First, Rowmote doesn't offer any sorting or UI beyond its Shuffle-like controls. (Apple's Remote app allows you to browse your whole iTunes library.) And you'll also have to load an intermediary program onto your Mac before Rowmote will work—it's not turnkey compatible like both Apple remotes are.

But still, especially as Rowmote is priced at just $1, it's at minimum a nice step up from the Apple IR-based Front Row remote (which seems to offer the exact same functionality). [iTunes]

Apple TV Firmware V.2.3 Update Gives Third-Party Remote Support, AirTunes Streaming

Elaine Chow — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 03:00:00 EST

For all you Apple TV users out there, Apple's now released firmware version 2.3. The patch, downloadable through the media hub's built in updater, now lets users stream music from AirTunes to any speakers connected to an Airport Express or other Apple TVs in the house. You'll also get the ability to use third-party remotes, and make playlists that include a mixture of audio and video formats. [Apple Insider]

The Most Realistic Unboxing of All Time

Mark Wilson — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 14:30:00 EDT

Product unboxings are generally sterile affairs, boiled down to Hollywoodesque over-simplicity, ignoring blister packs and steel-impervious plastic for magically opened, perfectly photographed gadgets. Well, here's a real unboxing made for the rest of us. And to the average male Giz reader, the clip evokes the same vicarious pain of watching a guy get kicked in the stones. [via TUAW]

The NES Controller Apple Remote Hack

Kit Eaton — Tue, 20 May 2008 05:30:15 EDT

An amazing coffee table, a mouse... now an Apple remote? Is there nothing the classic NES controller can't be modded into? Well, probably many things. But this one is at least simple to do and rather neat, involving a minimum of fiddling with solder and wires inside the NES. And you end up with a still fairly small Apple controller with added retro gaming chic. Are we witnessing a new modding culture to rival steampunk, I wonder? Controllerpunk? [Hacknmod— Thanks Joe]

Apple Remote Now a $19 Add-On

Wilson Rothman — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 08:51:40 EST

For those still skeeved about the iPod touch's $20 optional software upgrade, here's another beef: the Apple Remote, gateway to the 10-foot Front Row interface, is now an add-on extra that'll cost you $19. I'm thinking Apple found out that most of them stay forgotten at the bottom of the box. Is this an outrage? Or does it make sense? [Apple Store] Thanks Lowmax!