RedEye Mini dongle now on sale for $49, looking good in early review
By Darren Murph 
posted July 20th 2010 10:43AM
posted July 20th 2010 10:43AM
Available Now: ThinkFlood RedEye mini, Portable Universal Remote for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch
New RedEye mini and ThinkFlood's Original RedEye Remote on Sale in 52 Countries
WALTHAM, MA--(Marketwire - July 20, 2010) - ThinkFlood (http://thinkflood.com/), maker of RedEye remotes for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, today announced availability of RedEye mini, the world's most affordable and feature-rich portable universal remote adapter for Apple iOS devices.
RedEye mini, the second product in ThinkFlood's RedEye remote line, plugs into the headphone jack of the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad -- transforming it into a completely portable universal remote. RedEye mini hardware requires the RedEye app, a free download from the App Store.
RedEye mini owners can easily operate anything controlled by infrared signals anywhere they go: TVs; cable and satellite receivers; gaming consoles; Blu-ray, DVD and digital media players; and more.
"RedEye mini works so seamlessly and seems so simple in concept that it's easy to overlook the amount of engineering that went into it," said ThinkFlood President and Founder Matt Eagar. "Ultimately, it's that surface simplicity which makes it wonderful -- just drop the mini into your headphone jack and immediately you have a powerful, customizable remote that goes beyond systems costing several times as much. It's also a lot of fun."
More about RedEye mini
* Available now in 52 countries (US MSRP $49)
* Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad
* Download IR codes anywhere using a 3G connection or Wi-Fi
* Activity-based control and macros (common in advanced home theater remotes)
* Smaller than a thumb drive; comes with carrying case
* Database of 45,000+ IR codes; ability to learn commands from existing remotes
* Free in-app TV program/channel guide (coming later this summer for the US and Canada)
* Customizable touchscreen buttons, Multi-Touch and motion gesture shortcuts
* Leaves iOS device's dock connector open for charging
About ThinkFlood
ThinkFlood (http://thinkflood.com/) designs and develops remote control hardware and software. Its RedEye line of networked universal remote control products for mobile phones, MP3 players and tablets offers features and functionality previously available only in remotes costing several times as much. ThinkFlood is a privately held company headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.
Software for RedEye mini (the RedEye application)
RedEye is much more than a simple infrared adapter for your phone, and software plays a key role. At ThinkFlood we develop our software in-house and strive to provide regular updates and improvements. Here are some of the things that we feel set our software apart from the crowd:
• Activity-based approach
We believe your home theater should be organized around what you do, not what hardware manufacturers produce. One touch to play a movie, touch again to watch TV - no more trying to remember which audio and video inputs you need.
• Smart actions
Many other remotes have "macro" capability (the option to have one button send two or more signals). RedEye goes beyond macros with smart actions that actually keep track of things like whether a device is on or off. Smart actions are particularly useful when switching activities - when you transition from watching TV to playing a DVD, RedEye is smart enough to leave the TV on.
• Customizable button layouts
RedEye gives you a unique button layout for each activity you create, so the "remote" you use when listening to music is different from the one you use when watching TV. You can customize everything from button placement to size. We even have hundreds of channel logos built right into the application.
• Activity templates
Customizable button layouts for each activity are great, but creating them from scratch can be a lot of work. When you create a new activity, RedEye starts you off with a well-designed template. And by template we don't mean a single, standard set of buttons. Instead, RedEye uses information like the activity type (Watch TV or Listen to Music?) and the devices you include in the activity (do you route your sound through an A/V receiver or your TV speakers?) to determine what buttons to include and how they should function.
• Macro and toggle buttons
In addition to the usual tap or tap-and-hold functionality you expect, it is easy to make RedEye activity buttons perform more advanced functions. Macro buttons can send out multiple commands - for example, a smart mute button that turns on closed captioning when turning off the volume. Toggle buttons can switch between different functions each time you press them, like the classic play/pause button on a CD or MP3 player.
• Shortcut gestures
Touchscreens are great because they provide the ultimate flexibility - custom layouts for each activity being one example. However, they can make it harder to tap the right button when you are channel surfing or otherwise need to be looking elsewhere. RedEye uses the full functionality of the iPhone - multitouch and the accelerometer - to overcome this limitation. Choose from any of five motion gestures and eighteen multi-touch gestures for any button in your activity layout.
• Customizable delays
When executing a series of actions - for example during the launch of an activity - it is important to be able to fine-tune the delay between commands. RedEye allows you to insert delays of up to 20 seconds in 0.05 second increments.
• Quick launch
You want to be able to pick up your remote control and use it right away. If your remote is an app on your phone, then it has to launch fast and put you in the driver's seat right away. RedEye is optimized to launch quickly and to bring you right to the activity in progress. And now if you are using iOS 4 on a device that supports multi-tasking it's even faster than before.
• Online infrared code database
Sure, RedEye can learn commands from your existing remote controls, but who wants to do that? Our software is backed by an online database of more than 45,000 infrared codes covering over 1,200 device manufacturers, so there's a good chance we have what you need. And because the database is stored on a web server rather than on your phone or the RedEye hardware, you get updates to the database as soon as they are available - no need to wait for the next software release.
• Integrated channel guide (coming soon)
Version 1.3.0 of the RedEye software will include an television channel guide covering cable, satellite, and over-the-air broadcasts in the United States and Canada. With the channel guide you no longer need to take up the space on your main screen while you decide what to watch next. It is also easy to filter the list based on your favorite channels so that you don't have to scroll through dozens of screens just to find what you want.
• Toolbar hiding
The iPhone screen is pretty big, but sometimes you want to get everything out of the way and focus on your remote control. RedEye gives you a few different options to remove clutter and take control.
• Disabling the sleep timer
The iPhone's built in sleep-timer helps you conserve battery, and so you want to leave it on in most cases. However, when you are sitting down within arm's reach of a charging cradle, you might prefer to keep the phone awake. A simple setting in the RedEye app allows you to disable the sleep timer while the application is running without disabling it for all applications.
• Multitasking
Beginning with version 1.2.0, RedEye fully supports iOS 4 multitasking, which means that you can get back to controlling your activities even faster than before.
• Retina display support
RedEye now provides high resolution button images so that everything looks crisp and clear on your new iPhone 4.
This might replace a few of my remotes, looks ok.
@kennethmoestrup
What do you do when you get a call and want to pause what you're watching to take the call?
@kennethmoestrup losing $50 has never been this easy.
@tikigawd
Nice question. You put a rubber case on it so you can do both. But serioulsy, why not just stick to universal remote controllers like logitech harmony. I'd hate to have to unlock the phone all the time just to pause the movie or going back to reopening the app everytime after I hang up the phone!
@tikigawd
Use multitasking: Pull dongle out of iPhone. Put in iPod Touch or iPad. Launch App. Pause what you are watching. Answer Call on iPhone. *OR* Hope the App has been optimized for iOS 4, so you can use fast app switching.
@kennethmoestrup
Hey honey, do you know were I left the Thinkflood RedEye Mini dongle?
@hero785
"why not just stick to universal remote controllers like logitech harmony"
That's my point. There's too much hoopla about condensing every freaking thing into one device. It seems more of a fad, rather than a good practical solution.
@nickershocker
I'll stick with my remote, thanks. The one that has physical buttons i can feel around when I'm watching TV in the dark (yes, I think remotes with touch screens in general are stupid).
@nickershocker
I missed your iPad suggestion... really? You think using an iPad as a remote is a good idea? Maybe if you're Hagrid. I like handling my remotes with one hand.
@kennethmoestrup
Won't work with iPhone4 as the bumper gets in the way.
@bartman
LMAO dongle
@tikigawd Or, I can use my iPhone as a remote and see what I'm pressing because the screen lights up. And I can use it as a flashlight if I drop something in the dark.
@kennethmoestrup
What if only one person in the family uses an iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad? Or even if you are the only one living there but have a friend over who is watching the television while you do something else? Are you going to hand over your iDevice everytime someone else wants to use the "remote". I suppose you could spend $200+ on a dedicated iPod touch/iPad for this specific use, but then why not buy a dedicated universal remote?
@tikigawd Not sure about this app, but with Hippo Remote and Plex, if I get a call, it automatically pauses the video when I pick up the call, and automatically resumes playing as soon as I hang up. Pretty nifty, imo.
@YimYimYimi
My point is that I don't LOOK at my remote when I use it. I feel where the buttons are and press them, without taking my eyes off the TV.
Some remotes also have back lighting, in case you need to see the buttons.
@tikigawd One idea would be to have multitouch/gesture support, ie
3 finger swipe left/right- skip back/forward
4 finger tap- pause
2 finger swipe up/down- volume up/down
2 finger swipe left/right- channel down/up
2 finger swipe double tap- mute
Might work better on an iPad than an iPhone/iPod Touch though, but with the added screen real estate, it could be set up in regions, so that a 2 finger double tap in the top left quadrant would have a different command than the same in the bottom right quadrant, for example.
Still not as 'no-look' as a traditional remote, but an idea that might have some potential, IMO.
@tikigawd
Cool, stick with your old remote. For all us other users that do want to condense everything, this is great. Ive been waiting for this to come out for ipad. I already control my htpc via vnc so this will add to my ipads remote features.
@sweetelectro
Cool, stick with your iPad/iPoid/iPhone remote. For all us other users that do not want to condense everything, this is lame. I have not been waiting for this to come out for iPad.
@kennethmoestrup
Great report... who cares about gadget, what kind of leather sofa is that?! I want one! :)
@THJ
I appreciate the creativity; it does offer some semblance of no-look functionality. Some people might like that. But to me it would seem like you're trying to get me to adjust to the device, rather than the other way around.
Some of the higher-end Logitech Harmony remotes have touchscreen, but it seems the traditional ones are more prevalent. That makes me think most people haven't really embraced touchscreen remotes.
I just don't like touch screen in general when it comes to doing tasks that I can currently do without looking at the control. I feel the same way about controlling a touchscreen MP3 player while driving. I like my Zune 80 because it has the clicker that I can locate by feeling without having to look while driving. Of course, that's going away, so I guess that habit of mine is being trumped by the fad. To my relief, that doesn't seem to be the case for remote controls.
@THJ
Some people might want to watch tv on a, wait whats this, a tv!
@kennethmoestrup
I actually thought that was a miniature iPhone on a black mans finger.
@tikigawd Ya, touchscreen remotes aren't stupid if you're a quadriplegic and your wife habitually throws the remote on the floor before heading out to the store. Just sayin'...
are they going to charge extra for the bumper case adapter LOL
@luthan
lol good one, didn't think of that.
@angelusp
considering most of the iphone users use cases (usually designed to fit the headphone plug and not this square design), it should have been considered when designing the this product
@DasMyPhone of course some hater had to think of something to say
they should write a review for this against the popular logictech remote. it will be interesting to see how it go against the old dog in town
It looks like an (much needed) antenna attachment for the iPhone...
@joshl Yes, looks exactly like an antenna of 90's GSM phone!
@mustis
I'd rather have the 90' GSM cellphone antenna than iPhone 4! Thank you very much! BTW those antenna's still exist in todays dumbphone which were yesteryears smartphones! lol
@joshl
my first instinct..
Sometimes I forget that the treasury finally printed a bill honoring Horace Grant, third-greatest goggles-wearing player in NBA History.
@The Albatross I believe you mean the bill they named after one of the best games jounalists: Chris Grant.
Haha, "Mini dong."
I'm sorry for being immature, Engadget.
I always wondered why it connected throught the headphone socket and not the 30 pin connector. Does it transmit "audio" signals which the other device can decode?
@yeoldgreat1 probably has something to do with not wanting to hold the unit upside down to point it at the devices
@yeoldgreat1
Actually, that's pretty much it. People have been hacking up these IR transmitters for their music players for some time. Somehow they could record the signals from other remotes as an audio file (which sounds just like noise to you), and when the music files were played back, the proper IR waves were sent for the corresponding command.
@poelock
Hopefully they'll have taken the fact that ipod touches have the headphone socket on the bottom into account then!
I will have to remove the bumper from the phone to use this.
@Andy1098s
I wonder if the plastic could be shaved down a hair to fit the bumper.
@CMoebius
They could make 2 versions, one for bumpers with an extended plug and one without.
@Andy1098s I just won't put one on in the first place. Guess I'm 'holding it right'
WTF is that?
@Juggernaut408
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=RedEye+Mini+dongle
I still don't understand the appeal of PDA remotes. They've been around as long as PDAs have. Even the HP48 calc could record and playback remote control signals. Does anyone actually use these day-to-day after the initial novelty wears off?
@dingus
and PocketPCs didn't require a dongle.
just as a form of pure hackery, I get it.
NOT when you have to buy addt'l hardware.
@dingus I do, for Plex (Hippo Remote), iTunes/TV (Remote), and TiVo (DVR Remote). I can control everything except TV volume/power/source (no wifi remote capabilities on my TV). My old iPhone 3G and/or current iPhone are always on the charger or in my pocket, while the original remotes are often under furniture or in between couch cushions.
@THJ That makes sense. I can understand it as an RF remote, especially for something like AirTunes. But the whole dongle thing seems too damn inconvenient to be of any use.
Wow, almost like my IR port on my Nokia N900. Except that's built into the phone.