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First Look: Remote

by Scott McNulty Jul 11th 2008 at 7:00AM

Apple has a treat waiting for all you iPhone/iPod touch owners who also happen to be iTunes users (I imagine there is a high level of overlap between the two groups): Remote. Remote is a free application that turns your iPhone (or iPod touch) into a remote control for iTunes. Sounds simple, but once you use it you'll wonder how you did without it.

Apple's implementation makes it a fairly seamless experience. Your iPhone and Mac that hosts your iTunes library need to be on the same Wi-Fi network (nope, it doesn't work over EDGE or 3G), and you need to enter a code from your iPhone into iTunes but that's it. From there it feels like your entire iTunes library is now on your iPhone. The best part is that if you have multiple sets of AirTunes speakers, like I do, you can control where your music is routed to.

Did I mention that Remote is free? Yep, this great little app costs nothing.

Check out this gallery for a bunch of screenshots.

Apple's Remote

  • Choosing a Library
  • Add Library
  • Enter your Passcode
  • It worked!
  • Playlists


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Apple has a treat waiting for all you iPhone/iPod touch owners who also happen to be iTunes users (I imagine there is a high level of...
 

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Matt Brown

does it works with PC cause it keeps sayin cant find library but it locates and i enter it but it wont connect

July 16 2008 at 2:53 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Dan

Update:

If you start the rental with your mac first. you gain control of the rental on the iPhone by clicking on now playing.

July 12 2008 at 1:15 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Dan

You can control movies, tv shows, and music videos. But just like front row, you can not control or find rentals with the remote.

I am sure that rentals can be found on an apple tv.

Just like front row. The reason you can not find rentals on regular iTunes is that Apple wants you to buy an apple tv.

July 12 2008 at 1:13 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Dan's comment
Jon Hendry

"The reason you can not find rentals on regular iTunes is that Apple wants you to buy an apple tv."

I think the reason they limit it to Apple TV is because the computers don't have an HDMI output which enforces copy protection, which is probably a requirement imposed by the studios.

July 12 2008 at 3:42 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
changsc

I select the iPhone in iTunes but there is no place to input the 4 digit passcode. What am I missing?

July 11 2008 at 5:12 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to changsc's comment
ricosuave

Quit and restart iTunes and the remote will show up as devices.

July 11 2008 at 8:39 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Michael

@Ian Yes!! That is the exact problem I am having. It works great on my Laptop at home, but not on my iMac at work. I'm wondering if it has something to do with what computer your iPhone is synced to.

July 11 2008 at 3:44 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Ian

This doesn't work on my desktop. My laptop loves it, but it refuses to show up in the Devices list of my Mac Pro's iTunes.

Anyone else run into this problem?

July 11 2008 at 3:04 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
entica

What I need is the *opposite* of this. I don't own a touch or iphone yet but was wondering if you could play itunes shares on the touch via wifi? I have a music server that does a standard itunes share to my laptops and would like to access the same share with a touch. Basically I just need a remote listening device for my extensive library that won't fit on any mp3 player. Any ideas? Is this natively built into the touch or is there a 3rd party app that does this? Thanks.

July 11 2008 at 12:13 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to entica's comment
ricosuave

I'm your Huckleberry...


http://www.dottunes.net/

July 11 2008 at 1:23 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Michael

Does the remote app only work with the computer that your iPhone is synced with, or can I use this to control other Macs as well, like iTunes on my iMac at work?

July 11 2008 at 9:53 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jamie

When using the remote with TV or Movies, it isn't hanging!

It is a remote. It doesn't play the movie on your iPhone. It plays it "remotely" on your TV, and just shows a still photo from the show on your iPhone.

It's the same way it doesn't play your music on your iPhone, it lets you control your music on your Mac or AppleTV, and shows you the album art.

So it is working as designed!

July 11 2008 at 8:49 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
chus3r

I can honestly say I was kind of giddy when I got this working last night. For the first time in a long time I was truly impressed by the simplicity of the application and the response.

Unfortunately I don't have a set up where I can really take advantage of this, but it was quite fun thinking up the different possibilities.

While I can't buy one today I think an AppleTV purchase could make more sense now.

July 11 2008 at 8:47 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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