Where can the iPhone take us next? Recently it has turned into a terminal for credit card swiping and it looks like now it’s transforming into a universal remote control. The Rē is the latest accessory from NewKinetix for your iPhone and iPod touch that unleashes a brand new way to interact with your phone and your entertainment equipment around you. We had reported about it way back in December and finally now it has been released. It is a full featured, activity based IR remote that comes with a built-in upgradable IR database. This means less time having to have this accessory learn from your other remotes. The Rē iPhone & iPod Universal Remote Control is so simple to use, you just might feel the need to throw away all your remotes and replace it with this one accessory.
What’s in the Box:
The packaging is simple yet effective. Its’ a very clean design and when opened reveals the Rē device as well as a green velcro carrying case and two simple instruction pamphlets. The design of the Rē is not a case for the iPhone or iPod to slip into like the POWER A Universal Remote for iPhone accessory that we reviewed recently, but an accessory that attaches to the 30-pin dock connector. The Rē is a small attachment that doesn’t add much weight or bulk to your iPhone or iPod Touch either.
Setup:
Setting up the Rē accessory took all of ten minutes in its entirety, if not less. Just attach the device to the bottom of your iPhone/iPod touch and immediately you get a message indicating that you need to download the software so that the attachment will work. The Rē software is available in the App store and as a free download. Once the application is downloaded, that is when the device starts to work. You click on the Rē icon and then your iPhone or iPod touch turns into a remote. From there the application flips 180 degrees and you are forced to turn your iPhone/iPod touch all the way around so the attachment faces the TV and the home button faces you.
Software:
The Rē application is incredibly simple to use and the simple instructions included will help you find your way, or there is an ‘i’ that you can press in the top left corner for you to find help. After a few taps and swipes you easily could list the different equipment that you would be using the Rē with. The built-in IR codes made my life extremely easy and from my whole plethora of home entertainment equipment I didn’t need to have the Rē learn anything. You can also add many rooms to Rē Remote and then several remotes for each room. Basically you can control every remote controlled piece of audio or video equipment in every room in your home or office using the Rē.
Once your cable box, Stereo, TV, DVD players etc… are setup on the remote, operating them is as simple as if you were using the real remote control for the devices. When you use the Rē application as a remote control and press a button on your iPhone or iPod Touch, you feel a vibration almost like a haptic sensation, but not quite. There was no delay in response time between using the Rē on your iPhone/iPod Touch and the device being controlled.
Like with many highend remotes, you can also setup the Rē with your favorite channels along with corresponding logos. To set these favorites up was a little more complicated as you have to assign an activity to the device being used in a room and then select your favorite channels from there. It takes a couple of more swipes to get this to work. I don’t get why that part of the process couldn’t be more simpler, but alas I guess the Rē couldn’t be perfect. What I did find amusing was that when I favorited SyFy, the Rē still had the logo as SciFi – I think an app update is in order.
Conclusion:
The Rē truly does convert your iPhone and iPod Touch into a highend universal remote control seamlessly and painlessly. Installation of the software was a breeze, and there was no need to have it learn remote functions because the IR codes that I needed were already there in the app and easily accessible. I was able to turn on/off and flip channels on my TV, and access my DVR’s features in a snap. However, the lack of control for the XBox 360 was bit of a disappointment. Notably, there are IR Codes for newer Blu-ray players built-in to the Rē application. However if your devices are not listed amongst the preloaded IR codes, the Rē does have the ability to learn from new devices. Compared to other iPhone remote control devices we tested recently, the Rē came in heads and shoulders above the rest in terms of ease of use and functionality. In the case of the Rē, I actually could see more people in your household fighting to hog the remote more often now, just because it’s so easy and less complex than those fancier more larger universal remotes. The only downside I foresee is how many people will actually want to use their iPhone as a designated remote control? I suggest just getting a iPod Touch on eBay and using this accessory with it. It will actually be cheaper in the long run than an expensive color touchscreen remote or one of the many others out there that try to accomplish the same thing and are much more expensive. However, there are no bells and whistles here – this is just a device that does what it needs too and does it very well. Just be careful not to lose the accessory in your couch or you will be screwed… The Rē iPhone & iPod Universal Remote Control retails for $69.95.
The Good: Easy setup. Rē accessory is lightweight and doesn’t add much weight on to the iPhone or iPod Touch. Lots of built-in IR codes with more on the way via updates. Software is intuitive, easy to use, responsive, and feels like you are using a real remote.
The Bad: Setting up favorite channels was a bit cumbersome. You will need the latest OS on your iPod Touch for the Rē to work. Lacks support for the Xbox 360.