Turn Your iPhone Into a Universal Remote For $10 With BlinQ [Stuff We Like]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5817504/turn-your-iphone-into-a-universal-remote-for-10-with-blinq

I've previously checked out the Peel remote, which turns your iPhone into a universal remote by way of an Ethernet adapter and a fruit-shaped IR blaster. The blinQ, on the other hand, skips the adapter and fruit by just placing an IR blaster into your iPhone, which saves you $90 in the process.

The blinQ app is free, whereas the Q IR blaster, which plugs into the headphone jack, costs $10. After customizing the remote to your specific set of equipment by cycling through various IR code frequencies, you start using it as a universal remote. The app isn't as polished as the Peel one—which in turn falls quite short of a full-blown universal remote like a Logitech Harmony.

The Q app does work on iPhones, iPod touches and iPads, and gives you an on-screen guide that you can quickly navigate and choose shows from. There are other, and now seemingly mandatory, social features that you can use to watch TV "with" friends at the same time, or just tell them what you're watching. It doesn't add a lot to the value of the app, and I would have rather them use that development time to add more IR code support for various devices and clean up their interface more.

The bottom line is that while the universal remote functionality is more like a 5 out of 10, it works, and it's only $10. It's a type of thing that's perfect for using in the bedroom or exercise room where you're there only occasionally, yet still want to control various things with your iDevice.

Blinq on iTunes