Touchpad turns your iPhone into a remote trackpad

Just when you think you've seen the iPhone perform its last magic trick (making you eggs benedict, solving the inverse Galois problem, a brief appearance on Dancing With the Stars) something like this comes along to make your jaw drop just a little bit more. Touchpad for the iPhone is built on top of VNsea, but instead of allowing you to navigate your desktop on the device, it becomes what is essentially a wireless, remote trackpad, which gives you direct access to your system as if you were using a mouse or touch device for input. It sounds interesting in description, but looks amazing in execution -- check the video after the break to see what it does, then go get the app loaded up and try it yourself.

[CB17 @ Feb 21st 2008 6:09AM]

I've been using this, it works great...All that's missing is a Mac laptop style 2 finger tap/scroll...

[Grey Acumen @ Feb 21st 2008 10:53AM]

I'd like to see a version that actually gives you a zoomed in view of wherever you are on the screen, so that you can see what you're clicking on without even looking at the monitor.

[Andrew @ Feb 21st 2008 8:50PM]

Thanks but I'll stick with Stylish for my WinMo PDA, oh, wait, thats like 5 years old. Yet now that the iPwn does it, its cool again?

More crapple nonsense. Seriously, this is old. like, years old. My old Toshiba e355 had this on it.

[CB17 @ Feb 21st 2008 9:15PM]

Yeah but HOW BIG was that screen and with the iPhone they could very easily implement 2 finger gestures as mentioned above... Regardless, let's not get into the iPhone vs. Windows Mobile, I don't wanna make you cry in public...

[Tits @ Feb 21st 2008 6:22AM]

Why genius people always use windows? (that was an ugly windows2000 style desktop though..!)

[AutoTom @ Feb 21st 2008 6:42AM]

someone probably did this on a mac a year ago.. we just didnt hear about it

[Tits @ Feb 21st 2008 6:53AM]

impossible. if there is something Apple is good at, its marketing and ads. They will have it write in bold letters all over the web!

[Andrew @ Feb 21st 2008 7:30AM]

Indeed they did already do this on a mac. Salling Clicker comes to mind first. I don't know if it's compatible with an iPhone, but it works with my Windows Mobile phone.

Not to worry, it's VERY much a wow factor that you'll use for 5 minutes then never touch again because it's incredibly impractical. It does have all kinds of other features like media remotes though that are much more practical. Who needs the Apple Remote?!

[AutoTom @ Feb 21st 2008 6:31AM]

cool, now all i need is an iphone

[ATT @ Feb 21st 2008 6:35AM]

bring out the nintendo DS version !!!!!!!!!!

[josearoldan @ Feb 21st 2008 9:51AM]

while not exactly the same there's a similar app that lets you control your desktop or use the ds as a mouse, its called ds2win

[jimP @ Feb 21st 2008 6:49AM]

sorry to be the one sane guy here but this has been available on windows mobile devices for YEARS using salling clicker

[Esat @ Feb 21st 2008 6:50AM]

Ah, the joys of jailbreaking.

Seriously, if you haven't done so already, I have this to say:

Do it.

[Tits @ Feb 21st 2008 6:55AM]

its actually not very impressive... you better use a mouse or a wacom!

[Mike @ Feb 21st 2008 7:01AM]

Now that's just a cool idea. Wish I had an Iphone to try it out. No way I'm moving to AT&T though. Any one know if it works on the iPod Touch.


Mike
http://packratstudios.com

[helio9000 @ Feb 21st 2008 7:51AM]

As mentioned Salling Clicker already does this but for tons of phones - both WinMo and Symbian and, if you choose, over wi fi. But what I love is the inventor's "just like on a regular touchpad" comment. It would be great if people were using their genius to create things that don't already exist rather than just emulating those that do....but with an iPhone!

[Hawkman @ Feb 21st 2008 10:51PM]

If it weren't for the fact that this is about ten times easier to use than Salling Clicker's mouse control or VNsea, I'd agree with you. As it is, if you can see your computer screen this is pretty much the best usage experience I've had with direct control from a remote device - other than another computer, of course. And this is version 0.01.

[jaxim @ Feb 21st 2008 8:11AM]

I'd like to see someone create an application that allows you to control your Media Center PC - in a way that is much easier than using the iPhone as a trackpad. Maybe someone could even figure out how to allow the iPhone to run Vista's new sideshow feature.

I always thought the Zune should be a sideshow remote control for the Media Center, but unfortunately Microsoft isn't going to be doing that anytime soon.

[kapowaz @ Feb 21st 2008 8:32AM]

Indeed, there already is a very good Mac product that takes advantage of the iPhone as a remote control; IOSpirit's Remote Buddy (http://iospirit.com/remotebuddy/). It installs a small HTTPD on your Mac and you then interact with it via MobileSafari. It's not ideal (and I'm sure they'll release a native client once the SDK is released), but it still works rather well. You can use it to choose music from your iTunes library as well as things like watch a live feed of your iSight camera from your iPhone - a neat little security feature.

[Glenn @ Feb 21st 2008 9:25AM]

Some tips if your trying to do this. Instructions for windows.

You need a wireless router or be connected to one. Install TightVNC, google it. install it, during install you must click start or restart service (towards the end). Start TightVNC Server. Make up a primary and view only password in that window. Click ok. Install touchpad on iphone (instructions in video). Open up touchpad, click the + button enter a name, for the address hover over the tightvnc icon in windows next in the taskbar. It will give you three sets of numbers, ex: 192.168.1.103, type in into that field on your phone. Then add the port, ex: 192.168.1.103:5900. To find out your port for sure: double click the vnc icon on the taskbar and it will be greyed out, its above the word (main). OK out for there again. Enter the password you made up. tap save. then tap the name you created and it should connect and work. if it don't, it's probably your firewall and you will need to make an exception for the port tightvnc uses (ex: 5900) OR if your just testing it, temporally disable your firewall.

[ean @ Feb 21st 2008 11:41AM]

I think this video shows a far better use for such a technology: http://youtube.com/watch?v=jKclWxnz-Do

[Bucky @ Feb 21st 2008 1:00PM]

Can it make Jack Black not be in about School of Rock?

[Rocketboy @ Feb 21st 2008 1:57PM]

Great, more fingerprint marks..

Now if it did multi-touch on the desktop I'd be impressed. But as is, meh.

[RA @ Feb 21st 2008 2:12PM]

This is sweet. Can't wait to try it out.

[Bob @ Feb 21st 2008 4:05PM]

I had this idea ever since the iphone was hackable! But I envisioned it utilizing Bluetooth and not WI-FI....

[problematik @ Feb 21st 2008 10:04PM]

@ joseph

WHAAAAT???

[Beeswax @ Feb 22nd 2008 12:08AM]

We'll start on this CRAPOLA... tomorrow!

[Peppaz @ Feb 24th 2008 4:32AM]

This works incredibly well om both my XP pc and my eeePC with Xandros. I use a 32" tv as a monitor and this saved me from buying a media remote that works with both. Heres a quick demo and pics of this working in linux http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=16797

[sepirioth @ Mar 1st 2008 3:58PM]

i juat installed this. am acrialy scrolling to this page and typing using the touchpad app. SICK!

[Sam @ Mar 28th 2008 12:11PM]

More access, easy to install, free, go to www.pc2me.net or get the upgraded version at myF2P.com. Check out the comparisons... These products are top notch compared to others out there.