Report: Apple homes in on iPod-iPhone remote control

Apple is working on an application aimed at letting people remotely control iTunes in the home via their iPod Touch or iPhone, according to a report on MacRumors.com.

The application is described in information included with the iTunes 7.7 pre-release version that was made available to developers on Thursday.

According to the MacRumors report, the application will "presumably" allow people to play back their iTunes audio with the help of Wi-Fi.

The report offers these details from the developers pre-release version, based on the "Read Me" area of the iTunes installer:

Use iTunes 7.7 to sync music, video, and more with iPhone 3G, and download applications from the iTunes Store exclusively designed for iPhone and iPod touch with software version 2.0 or later. Also use the new Remote application for iPhone or iPod touch to control iTunes playback from anywhere in your home--a free download from the App Store.

Such an application would add momentum to Apple's unveiling of its iPhone software development kit in March.

[Seaspray0]

Not a bad idea. Sit on the couch and remotely select the music that plays from the computer. It would be even better if the computer was integrated with the entertainment system for playing the audio. So far, I haven't seen any entertainment systems using Wi-Fi to sync an audio signal from the computer but it may happen some day.

[ballmerisanape]

There is a web app that does this right now. Very useful. My current set-up involves speakers connected to my AirPort Express... and I play my music via wireless from my computer. Having a remote in my pocket that is not line-of-sight is fantastic...especially when I am outside in the yard and have the music playing. The web app also allows me to open files on my computer (displays documents and media on the iPodtouch) or view the webcam. Very slick.

[deeplyaware]

Are they going to make Itunes also less resource intensive, and invasive?

[James7777777]

Another case of Apple steeling ideas from others.



You can already do this with better devices, grab a nokia internet tablet (way better then the ipod touch) and a pc running MCE and this is all possible through MCEGuru.



Of course Apple will probably get credit for "inventing" the technology and for being innovators. Gotta love the media/populations blind devotion to Apple.

[rixmac]

Apple will not take credit for inventing the technology, they will only take credit for making the technology more elegant or easier to set up and use. Those of us who like to tinker or work for an hour to make things work won't appreciate the fact that Apple will allow a novice to set it up in 5 minutes. And please help me understand that the Nokia Internet Tablet is way better than the iPod. Only if you are comfortable with linux. And your statement is backed up by the waaaay awesome sales of the Nokias. I had the first generation Nokia and was left in the dust by the next upgrade. Not so with most Apple products.

[James7777777]

Nokia Internet Tablet is not advertised at all, yet it makes many sales and has a huge community of users/developers. So are they record breaking sales, definitely not, should they be no.



However if you do a feature comparison between an N810 and iPod touch, you will quickly see it is superior.



As for your Linux comment, you don't even know what linux is to use Nokia's device. But hey you used the first generation, when they openly admitted they were testing the waters and it was not yet ready for general consumers, you must know everything!


I don't know why I bother with news.cnet.com, the posts are intelligent, but the comments are often ridiculous.

[rixmac]

Okay, let me get this straight, I used the first Nokia Internet tablet, which is very hard to upgrade, whereas thee iPod Touch allows for an upgrade path that will allow for new apps to be installed and used in ways that no one can imagine and the iPod Touch is the inferior product? The early adopters of the first Nokia tablet paid the price for a hard upgrade path or buy the next one - Apple, for a small fee allows for the upgrade without the purchasing of new hardware and the Nokia Internet tablet is the superior choice?

Come on now!

[rixmac]

Before this gets to be a p#$#*ing contest, let me say that it seems to me that the two products are meant for different markets/people. There is no question that the Nokia tablets are a joy to use for people who like to tinker, dig down into the innards of a product, whereas many thing made by Apple are meant to "friendlier" or easier to use. I got the N770 because it did look like you could do great things with it, but after about 6 months I got to the end of my comfort level with it and started using it less and less. The iPod Touch came out and, voila that was it for the Nokia. Yes, I know that Apple stole the whole GUI thing from Xerox, who stole it from someone else, is it possible that Nokia and Linux do everything originally?

[mjtomlin]

"but the comments are often ridiculous."

Funny you should mention that.

Yes, you could hack together just about anything to do just about anything. What good is that to iPhone / iPod touch users? So while this might not be news or interesting to you, it is to those of us who have an iPhone and use iTunes. I don't care if your damned Nokia lays golden eggs, what good is that to me? It isn't! So go back to your Nokia/MCE world and be happy.

By the way, you can also already do this with MCE on OS X and a hacked iPhone. I'm sure there's also a hack for the AppleTV as well.


"Apple stole the whole GUI thing from Xerox, who stole it from someone else"

The GUI was not "stolen," Xerox PARC was a research think tank. The original concepts dated back to the mid-sixties I believe. Originally Xerox was only interested in creating "digitized" versions of copies. Before Apple went on the infamous tour of PARC, they already started work on their own GUI. Apple also paid Xerox a million dollars in stock to take the tour and talk to the engineers. A lot of the people who worked at PARC, later went to Apple to work on the Lisa and then the dumbed-down version, the Macintosh.

The only part of the GUI history that could be considered stolen is the birth of Windows, which was basically nothing more than a port of the original Macintosh Toolbox API. Microsoft threatened to pull Office for the Mac, if Apple didn't allow them to port the Toolbox API. At the time, Apple needed the Office suite running on its systems so they didn't have much of a choice.

[James7777777]

That's right, the N770 was hard to upgrade, but the nokia internet tablet line is better then the ipod touch. Nokia was open with their customers and allowed them to help beta test a product, that led to the N810 which is amazing. Customer input/involvement! Apple hid the ipod touch in the basement until it was ready, as a result it was more polished, but had no customer input.

[man290663]

Great Idea - seems like the MAC MINI will be making a comeback as the Mac Media Centre if the new model is upgraded to Core 2 or better and LARGER hard drives and better Quality A/V out including HDMI.


It makes the upgrade to the touch worthwhile IF apple can increase the memory they offer on ALL devices!