Re iPhone Universal Remote Control - Infrared Remote Control Accessory for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

by Re iPhone Universal Remote Control - Infrared Remote Control Accessory for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 1 x 7 inches ; 0.3 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0038Z45IW
• Item model number: NK100
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)

Product Description

The Re iPhone accessory coupled with the Re App turns your iPhone or iPod touch into a high performance Universal Remote Control. Put away your current remotes and use Res advanced features to enhance control and enjoyment of your entertainment activities. The compact Re Accessory contains an extensive data base of IR codes that allows it to replace almost any IR remote without the tedious task of manually learning hundreds of buttons necessary on a learning-only remote. The database supports nearly all brands and types of entertainment and home automation devices controlled by IR. The Re creates a copy of each of your remotes in a few easy steps, and can even replace a lost remote; and that is just the beginning. The Re App understands that you use your devices together to watch TV, watch a movie, or listen to a CD. For example, to watch TV, the Re creates Watch TV Remote with the buttons you need from your from your TV, Cable Box, DVR and Receiver. You can add, learn and move buttons and change the layout on the touch screen of your iPhone or iPod touch to fit your preferences. One button starts the activity by powering all the devices and switching the video and audio signals to the right settings. One button macros like the start button can be created to automate any sequence of button presses.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This one really works, April 20, 2010

By 

J. Miller "Mr AV" (Lincoln City, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Re iPhone Universal Remote Control - Infrared Remote Control Accessory for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch (Electronics)

I was a guy looking for a GREAT universal remote. I've used ALL of the available products (4) and this one is the BEST available. By far.

Here's why:

First of all, it's one of just two that have a built-in database of thousands of brands. That means typically you don't need to learn any buttons (but you can). It also means FAST setup and use. And it also means true PORTABILITY. Set up any device anywhere, anytime.

So my advise is to stay away from the learning-only remotes. They are slow to use and VERY cumbersome. There are some that say that they can download the codes, but 'User Contributed Codes' can have lots of different problems.

I found this product to have the most powerful IR transmission. You need this. Some products use smaller IR Diodes, some limit the current to the IR diode.

But the real strength of this product is the feature rich, but free APP. It has Macros and Favorite Lists (including network logos). It is truly programmable in button images and layouts. But the killer feature is the Activity Remotes. This is the capability that is usually found only in remotes costing hundreds of dollars. The activity remote is where you will spend your time using this product.

Its the Activity Remotes that make this product worth the money and stand out above all others.

Sorry for the long post, but I found an iPhone remote control that I really like, and even my wife like to use.

44 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible remote with excellent customer service, October 13, 2010

By 

J. Lingle (Murrells Inlet, SC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Re iPhone Universal Remote Control - Infrared Remote Control Accessory for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch (Electronics)

I bought the Re after drooling over the Harmony line of remotes for several years, and just not being able to justify spending that much on a universal remote. I've owned an All-In-One brand remote for almost 10 years, and although it can be easily upgraded over the phone through their customer support, it's not touch screen capable, so its easy to forget what I programmed into the function and macro buttons, labeled F1-F4 and M1-M4, for each of the 10 devices that it can control.

Enter the Re! For just $70, this remote/app combo has replaced 11 factory remotes AND my All-In-One universal remote. I downloaded the free Re app from iTunes before even ordering the IR sensor, and spent about an hour creating a few rooms, adding devices, and building activity based remotes. I love my iPhone 4, and the guys at NewKinetix have just made it even more invaluable. Within just 2 days, I was controlling every media device in my entire house it! Their customer service is incredible, with email response times of hours, not days, and when I needed device codes added to the custom database, it was done within 1-2 business days, just as their website advertises.

Here's a rundown of my media equipment, and my experiences with the Re after owning it for two weeks:

Living Room:
Mitsubishi WD-73737 73-Inch 1080p 120Hz Home Theater DLP HDTV
DirecTV HR21 HD DVR
MonoPrice HDX-501 5x1 HDMI Switch
Onkyo TX-SR608 7.2-Channel A/V Home Theater Receiver (Black)
Xbox 360 120GB Elite Spring 2010 Bundle
PlayStation 3 120 GB
PS3ToothFairy IR to Bluetooth converter for universal remote control of PS3 ([...])
Wii

Bedroom:
Mitsubishi WD-60737 60-Inch 1080p 120Hz Home Theater DLP HDTV
DirecTV HR21 HD DVR
Samsung BD-P1600 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player
Sony DAV c990 10-year old all-in-one media system

Kids Playroom:
VIZIO E320VA 32-Inch 720p LCD HDTV, Black
DirecTV HR21 HD DVR
Onkyo DV-SP506 1080p Upscaling Super Audio CD/DVD Audio/Video Player - Black
Old Panasonic VCR

I was able to control everything above out of the box with Re except for the MonoPrice HDMI switch and the PS3ToothFairy. Each time I added a device to the appropriate room in Re, the pre-built remote for that device was also added. I spent very little time learning the couple of buttons that were not already included on each remote, and then I rearranged the device remote buttons to resemble the factory remote layouts that I was used to. I emailed NewKinetix support asking to have my HDMI switch added to the database, and sent a link to the manufacturer's website, and within 24 hours, MonoPrice appeared in the Devices list in the Re app. The associated remote was pre-built to look just like the factory remote that came with the switch, and it worked on the very first try. Amazing!
I also bought the PS3ToothFairy in order to control my PS3 from the Re, and upon sending a link to the hex codes used by the device, displayed on the manufacturer's website, NewKinetix is building a custom remote for that as well.

NewKinetix support is also building an online community for sharing and custom remote building collaboration. Users can email custom remote configurations directly through the Re app to each other, or to NewKinetix support. I built a custom remote for my Xbox 360 elite, using the existing Microsoft / DVD device code, which provided about 90% of the functions on the Microsoft IR remote. Upon learning the Xbox menu button, Media Center Start button, and a few others, then recreating the layout of the Microsoft remote, I emailed my configuration to support, and within 24 hours, Xbox was added to the IR database using my design, as a standard out of the box code. Awesome!

Creating Activities was also a breeze. After finalizing the device remotes for all of my gear, the Re Activities wizard asks which devices are involved in the activity being created. So I created "Watch DirecTV" and "Play PS3", etc, and the activity turns on all associated devices, selects the correct HDMI input on the switch, and can perform complex macros normally not present in a universal remote at this price point. Best of all, you can create custom labels and select any button image you like for any button or macro you create, on any remote, anywhere in the app. And although you have to select from one of the 50 or so buttons included today, support has advised that Re will be able to import custom images for buttons in a future release.

The Re is by far the most advanced universal remote control you will find under $100, and in my opinion, outranks all other universal remotes for three reasons. Firstly, I don't have to have any expensive dedicated remote controls anywhere in my house anymore, period, and since I always have my iphone in my pocket anyway, it's a no brainer for me to just leave the Re on the coffee table and plug it into my phone when the family sits down in front of the TV. And second, there is no limit to the number of rooms, devices, activities, or macros that you can build and control with Re. Most universal remotes on market only control up to 10 devices and have limited customization features. Lastly, backlighting is no longer an issue, since the entire remote is as bright as your device's brightness settings, and from a usability perspective, you can assign an audible 'click' sound and/or vibrate when you click buttons on the remote, which also visually turn red while depressed. No more fumbling in the dark to find the right buttons on my non-backlit and half-backlit remotes!

We have three iPhone 4's, one iPod touch, and an iPad at our house, and the Re works flawlessly with all of them. After I customized Re in my iPhone, I simply 'bumped' it to all of the other devices and my entire config was transferred into their Re apps, so any device that we happen to be using at the time works great and controls everything. The iPad version is identical to the iPhone app, but utilizes the full length of the screen. It would be nice if the iPad app allowed full customization of the entire screen in the future, but I guess the tradeoff for now is being able to bump your settings from iPhone without any manual customization on the iPad.

The Re is so small you can put it in it's included soft mesh velcro-sealed carry bag, and keep it in your pocket. It is so fast and easy to add devices, you could literally add TV's from hotels, sports bars, restaurants, etc, and control them in public places in under a minute. I travel for a living, and not having to touch the nasty, never-cleaned, germ infested hotel remotes again is an added benefit.

I do a little iPhone app development myself, and the only bad thing I can say about the Re is that I didn't think of it myself, because the guys at NewKinetix are going to be rich...

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Works great! Easier to set up than is described!, June 24, 2010

By 

Gadgeteer - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Re iPhone Universal Remote Control - Infrared Remote Control Accessory for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch (Electronics)

I don't usually spend time providing reviews for products. Normally, other reviews pretty much cover the important points. But I had to comment on how easy it is to set it up.

Once I understood how the setup flows by going through setting up my first "room" which took about 15 minutes, I was setting up other rooms in less than 5 minutes. The database of IR codes is very complete and very easy to choose from. The screens are very easy to customize with personal feature buttons. I'm very pleased with the device. Well worth the price. The only thing I would suggest is a function to put the iPhone or iPod immediately into powersaving mode as it can currently quickly drain the battery just sitting around between uses.