15 Things You Can Remote Control With Your iPhone

Some of the coolest apps in Apple's (AAPL) iPhone App Store are widgets that let you use your iPhone or iPod touch as a remote control.

You can control dozens of gadgets, ranging from your DVR to your computer or high-end digital camera. The best news: Many remote control apps are free, and most are a few bucks or less.

Perhaps the most practical is the free Remote app that Apple launched along with the iPhone App Store in July, 2007. It lets you control your computer's iTunes app from anywhere within wi-fi range. That means you can change songs or volume levels from bed, across the house, or even outside.

It also allows you to control your Apple TV set-top box -- if you have one -- and use the iPhone's multi-touch screen as a gesture pad. It's much better than the small, plastic remote that comes free with the Apple TV. (Other media center apps have similar remote controls for the iPhone, such as Boxee and VLC, a video player.)

But it's not just entertainment: There's also business cases, such as using your iPhone as a remote for PowerPoint or Apple's Keynote software, or to monitor video from security video cameras.

Home DVR

Free apps from DirecTV and AT&T let you program your digital video recorder from anywhere.

iTunes

Via Apple's free Remote app, search and change the song playing on your computer's iTunes jukebox from bed, across the house, or even outside.

Or change volume settings, or hit pause, etc.

Presentations

Apple's $0.99 Keynote remote lets you control Keynote presentations if you own the iWork suite.

Other apps, like Evan Schoenberg's $0.99 Rowmote can steer PowerPoint slides.

Apple TV

Apple's free Remote software also controls the Apple TV set-top box, if you have one of those.

A recent update adds a nifty feature that lets you use your iPhone's multi-touch screen as a "gesture pad" to scoot around the Apple TV display.

This is much easier than using the small, plastic remote that came with Apple TV.

Sonos Home Stereo

If you have a Sonos multi-room sound system, your iPhone is now a remote via the free Sonos Controller app.

X-Plane Flight Simulator

Sort of like how Nintendo's DS has a touch-sensitive second screen that often controls what's happening on the first screen, this will let you control and observe some of your flight simulator's features -- on your computer -- using the iPhone as a smaller, second screen.

Requires the $4.99 X-Plane Remote app and the $39 desktop X-Plane software.

Boxee

If you use the free Boxee media center software on your Mac, PC, Linux box, or Apple TV, now you can use your iPhone as a remote via Boxee's free app.

(What's Boxee? Think of it as a multimedia-specialized Web browser that you're supposed to steer from your couch. Lets you watch Netflix movies, MLB.TV, and other Web video streams.)

Digital SLR Camera

onOne software makes a lite ($1.99) and pro ($19.99) version of its DSLR remote app.

If you hook your Canon EOS DSLR camera up to a computer via USB, you can remotely control settings, fire the shutter release, and see your camera's viewfinder remotely over wi-fi.

Nikon support coming soon.

Desktop PC or Mac

This one takes a little tinkering, but free VNC -- "virtual network computing" -- remote desktop software on your computer (Mac, PC, Linux, etc.) will let you view and control it from anywhere, provided it's turned on and hooked up to the Internet.

The VNC app we've been using for our iPhone is the free Mocha VNC Lite; there's also a pro version for $5.99.

Blu-ray Discs

Fast & Furious Blu-ray disc, is released on July 28, includes a "virtual car garage," which lets iPhone and iPod touch users see different views of the movie's racers and cars by using their touch screens.

You'll also be able to use the iPhone or iPod touch as a remote control on some Blu-ray discs, provided you have a Blu-ray player that's hooked up to the Internet.

VLC Media Player

If you use the free, popular VLC (Video LAN client) media player app, you can control it with your iPhone via the free VLC Remote app or its $2.99 premium cousin.

XBMC (Xbox Media Center)

If you use the Xbox Media Center app to watch movies on your Mac, you can control it remotely via apps like the $2.99 XBMC Remote.

Security Camera

Plenty of security camera monitoring apps in the App Store, depending on your rig.

By far the most expensive, though, is Lextech Global Services' $699.99 iRa Pro, which delivers "a video command center to the palm of your hand."

Home Automation System

Home automation apps like the $4.99 iHome remote for the Indigo server let you adjust your home lighting from anywhere. (Update: Indigo offers a free app. More info here.)

Note: Probably not for beginners.

Boyfriend

Ladies: We're not quite sure how this one works, but the $1.99 "Boyfriend remote" app is worth every penny if it performs magic.

You can tell it to "give me money," "foreget about beer," and even "take me to the mall." Classy.

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