Mobile Technology

VooMote One converts iPhone into a personalized remote

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VooMote One IR sleeve and app convert iPhone or iPod touch into a universal remote
VooMote One IR sleeve and app convert iPhone or iPod touch into a universal remote
VooMote One IR sleeve and app convert iPhone or iPod touch into a universal remote
VooMote One IR sleeve and app convert iPhone or iPod touch into a universal remote
VooMote One IR sleeve and app convert iPhone or iPod touch into a universal remote
VooMote One IR sleeve and app convert iPhone or iPod touch into a universal remote
VooMote One IR sleeve and app convert iPhone or iPod touch into a universal remote - the app screenshot (Photo: iTunes)
VooMote One IR sleeve and app convert iPhone or iPod touch into a universal remote - the app screenshot (Photo: iTunes)
VooMote One IR sleeve and app convert iPhone or iPod touch into a universal remote - the app screenshot (Photo: iTunes)
VooMote One IR sleeve and app convert iPhone or iPod touch into a universal remote - the app screenshot (Photo: iTunes)
VooMote One IR sleeve and app convert iPhone or iPod touch into a universal remote
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Germany-based company Zero1.tv has announced its VooMote One IR sleeve and app that converts iPhone or iPod touch into a universal remote. While the idea itself is not particularly new, some users might find VooMote One interesting as the add-on allows to create custom layouts linked to certain locations, like the living room or bedroom, with different sets of electronics to be operated via iPhone or iPod touch.

Some companies have realized quite quickly that a smartphone could work as a universal replacement for the growing number of remote controls piling up at our homes. Rolled out back in 2010, L5 Remote IR dongle with a free app for iPhone is an example of such a device.

Also working in conjunction with a free app, the VooMote One add-on includes a "Room Control" feature that allows you to group devices according to their locations, e.g. living room, kitchen, bedroom, etc., and to give each location a name and a matching icon. VooMote One also enables the creation of custom control layouts, combining functions of various devices on a single screen, while the "One Touch" feature lets the user set macros that run a number of preset functions with a single tap.

According to Zero1.tv, VooMote One captures "more than 30,000 infrared codes" and is capable of recognizing "574 TV brands, 995 Top Box/DVR brands, and 151 audio and CD brands," while its library is being updated constantly. Apart from that, it can learn new devices automatically by pointing the original device's remote control toward the LED transmitter of VooMote One sleeve.

Encasing the iPhone with the add-on reportedly does not limit the smartphone's core functions (camera, on/off button or incoming calls). The IR add-on and app are compatible with "practically all generations of the iPhone/iPod touch (2G-4G)" (utilizing an adapter system). The app is free to download via App Store, while the sleeve is priced at US$99 and will be available from August 5, 2011.

Product page: VooMote One

The video below is a brief presentation of the device:

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4 comments
Paul van Dinther
One IR emitter! Only one IR emitter costing a few cents could have been added to the current crop of smart phones. In our family we all have our smart phones with us all the time. It makes sense to let them function as a universal remote as well.
I wonder if it is possible to build an IR emitter with some circuitry that allows audio signals to power and control the emitter. If so it should be possible to build a tiny 3.5mm plug that fits in the phones audio jack with only a small IR emitter protruding.
Having to put an entire sleeve around your phone makes the whole idea silly in my view. The L5 remote makes a lot more sense.
Pks29733steel
Yes, now you can run down your \'I-Phone\' battery by using your \'I-Phone\' as a remote. What\'s cheaper, buying a universal, rechargable batteries or spending $90 bucks to get your \'I-Phone\'s\' battery replaced? I would go with the $10 remote and the $12.99 charger with the two free \'AA\' batteries! Now I spent $22.99 ( the batteries can be recharged for 1,000 times...that will be a few years) instead of $90 bucks to get my \'I-Phone\'s\' battery replaced.
Gregg Eshelman
IR transmitter add-ons were made for Palm Pilots before they had built in IR transmitter/receivers. They combined with software like Omni Remote to control almost any IR controllable devices.
Bluetooth and WiFi have pushed IR out of newer PDAs and phones (Apple\'s iPod Touch products are really PDAs, they just don\'t call them that) so to get IR function back you have to go back to the design concepts of the late 90\'s.
A Palm TX with Omni Remote would do the same job for a lot less money.
Louis Alain Desire Bastien
Why Apple did not built in the IR ?