The lack of infrared output on the iPhone has always prevented it from being uttilized as a standalone remote control, however tech company ThinkFlood have come up with an ingenious solution to this problem; let the iPhone talk to a dock which then talks to the desired device instead.

This dock is called the RedEye and it works in conjunction with an app on your phone, where home entertainment devices are added and controlled.  Rather than stopping there, RedEye allows you to add what it calls ‘Activities’, custom macros which perform a series of commands such as turning on multiple devices and make them ready for a specific use.

Further RedEye docks can be added to other systems in the house and each dock can be controlled by multiple iPhones too.  The app control panel is customizable, so buttons can be added for an often used command, plus the app supports gesture control, where a flick to the right increases the volume or shaking the phone takes you to the main menu of whatever disc is playing.

While the RedEye app is free, the actual dock will set you back $188, which at first may sound expensive, however that’s when compared to the basic universal remotes many will be familiar with.  The RedEye is more complex than that and should be compared with similar hardware, like for instance the Logitech Harmony One universal remote, which uses a tiny touchscreen running Windows, and that retails at $249, while the 3.5″ touchscreen equipped Harmony 1100 Advanced Remote retails at $499 – making the RedEye actually quite competitive.

Take a look at this video demonstrating gesture control to see RedEye in action: