IR-beaming RedEye mini iPad / iPhone remote dongle gets real, its own video demo
By Darren Murph 
posted July 7th 2010 10:21AM
posted July 7th 2010 10:21AM
Oh, sure -- ThinkFlood promised us back in early March that a RedEye mini would be landing this summer, but at the time, all we had were a few luscious renders. Today, the company has finally revealed the first actual shots of the forthcoming device, along with a video showing it in action. While diminutive, it's certainly not as compact and discrete as IR-enabled cases, but if you've already committed to an iPod touch / iPhone / iPad case (or just prefer rocking your device sans clothing), this here dongle is likely the next best thing. In case you're wondering, this little guy will transform your iDevice into a universal remote, enabling it to talk to any home entertainment component that listens to IR (read: that's just about all of 'em). We're still stuck waiting a few more months for this $49 product to hit shelves, but for now, feel free to hop past the break and peek a brief demonstration. 
@sdeyuhrd
I can has grammar? kthxbai!
@RayVoid
Damn, and now the spam post is gone. Nothing to see here, move along. .. Move along...
@RayVoid
sorry English isn't my native language
@Steafan
There was a post below your's earlier. I suppose that, when it got tagged for deletion, my reply got stuck to you.
Ironic name
@adamorjames
That thing is FUGLY..
Id want something that looks like this:
http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/7678/irplus.png
@adamorjames
The price is a BAD JOKE, I'll wait till a copy appears on EBAY for a few pennies...
@uckApple I know what you mean. I want one that looks like that, too... :(
Or you could use the actual remote that came with your tv!
I know why these are useful, so you have all the controls in 1 place, the price doesn't seem too steep either.
@yeoldgreat1 yeah, for my setup it's pretty insane switching between 5 remotes.
@tkuhl87 just get a Harmony Remote and you don't have to worry about 5 different remotes
@katsuro
I don't want to have to pay a minimum of $200 to get one though.
@bravokiloromeo they go on sale for 100, oldfetus ftw
Can't do that with Android!
@Shalabi sure about that?
I can bet someone's gonna copy it in next few months, and will do it for android and windows mobile 7.
@Shalabi soon they can
@Shalabi
lol. Probably there's already an app for that. This is not grand.. at all.
I can do this with my treo 650. FFS. Treo 650!!!
NoviiRemote :)
@chrisabr isn't that the story of the android? copy copy copy.
iPhone= Innovate!
Android= Innowhat?
@justit Good artists copy, great artists steal. Who said that again?
Oh yeah, it was Picasso
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW0DUg63lqU
@justit
Thank goodness Apple invents everything! We would be lost without Jobs. How did we live so long without cell phones? :)
The Apple vs Palm patent war chest threads showed clearly that Apple, like every other tech company out there, innovates where they need to and copies where they can. Apple isn't magic elf land...they're just another tech company.
@Shalabi
I remember the days when IR was standard on all smartphones, and the brief moment in time when IR and Bluetooth coexisted on the highest end of smartphones. Remote control software was also easy to find for free.
@slipdisc
So funny you say that since this is just a copy of Windows Mobile tech from 2003.
Although I think the 2003 adapter they copied looked better.
http://windowsphonethoughts.com/news/show/40615/griffin-mobile-s-total-remote-v1-01-reviewed.html
@Shalabi
cause they dont have IR built in.
But you have been able to do that with pocket pc, palm pilots, symbian phones (inclugind uiq), windows mobile phones, and so on, for years.
Is that really necessary?
@kentoe
Depends if you already have a Harmony remote. Or two of them in my case. ;-)
I think their full "non-mini" solution is actually really great. I don't own it yet, but having to find this mini IR is sort of silly. Its going to take me just as long to find the TV remote. With their full solution. The iphone sends IP based commands over wifi to a remote sender sitting in your entertainment cabinet. No having to look for anything and of course your iphone is always in your pocket.
$50?
Surely we can make a cheaper one....
@Arnon
Well im not good with technology or manufacturing, and my name is spelt Shurrly, not Surely.
But I'll try.
does it work if you hold the iphone with your left hand?
@beastonroids
Yes.
Not as sexy as the "prototype" they show on their website.
Since when is a device that plays audio pulses as IR worth $50? That had better be some snazzy software with it.
This guy looks like he's not trying to laugh at you for trying to sell this crap
I wish smartphones would start building IR in so I don't have to find the remote or plug in a huge dongle.
@petebob796
Older ones did, they must've thought that IR was a dying breed to be replaced by bluetooth. I guess it's not now!
@yeoldgreat1 Well they did yes in PDA's, laptops and a like but that was for data transfer at very short ranges. They weren't bright enough really for use with your TV.
i don't even think the presenter thinks it's gonna sell, he has some skeptic smile on his face. But this is pointless if still have your TV remote
It's Van Der Sloot!
This is wrongheaded. I don't want to plug in a silly dongle every time I want to control home theater equipment. Why not build a cheap WiFi-IR bridge that is always ready to work?
@danwallie That was their first product:
http://thinkflood.com/products/redeye/what-is-redeye/
wait until someone controls an ir rc helicopter with it
I would prefer a blu-ray player/tv that accepted bluetooth input as standard. The major benefit being it would not require additional hardware and would not need line-of-sight in order to be effective.
that doesn't look like it will fit with the bumper case
FAIL
I Purchased the full ThinkFlood RedEye. It is somewhat buggy and the database of components was very limited. Most of my stuff was not on their list. I ended up having to program each button. (What a PAIN!) I finally gave up.
I now use a Logitech Harmony One remote. I like it a lot better.
i r beaming ur commands
I like the idea of a iPhone based remote, but I don't see how this one really adds anything more than what you'd get from a cheap universal remote?
Personally, when the redeye mini was announced way back when on thinkflood's website, i was going to wait then newkinetix released their dongle I decided to try it, yes it connects to the charging port of the iphone/ipod touch but honestly i love the thing it makes it easy and its funny when I can walk into any store and control their tv's (with permission of course)
If you want to check it out here it is http://www.newkinetix.com/
I will buy the redeye mini when its FINALLY released, at this moment that video doesnt even really show anything, Wow he raised and lower the volume. This thing was supposed to be released this summer and summer is about midway and we see another demo video that still doesnt show much at all.
It could still get way better as their reps are saying that it should be out in two weeks or so and that an upcoming software update will include an integrated tv guide. It sounds as if you will be able to to scan through the tv guide in the software choose a show and it should change the channel in one tap. It would be interesting if they can find a way to program a future recording with one click but given all the dvr hardware that one would not be easy.
small adapter?
that thing looks huge on top of on iphone!
not pretty at all!!
Just add your ugly plastic bumper ... and you're all set to go back to the 80s !
The iPhone 4 : the phone with a classic but hidden design ... inside a bunch of add-on iThings you need to make it work.