One of the first apps I downloaded was Apple’s very own Remote app, and though I don’t use it very much, I was definitely impressed with its ease of use and functionality. It was cool to be able to control my iTunes library on my home computer with my phone. With the success of the Remote app, I wondered what else I could control with my iPhone: my T.V, my lights, or my thermostat? With Nam’s Remote, I don’t get to do any of these things, but I do get access to a few interesting features.

Overview
Nam’s Remote was pretty easy to set up. You will need to download a separate application for the computer that you intend to control. After adjusting the settings on this app, you then need to establish a connection to your iPhone/iPod. This involves knowing the IP address, but the program helps you find it with ease. Once connected, you then have access to a wide range of functions ranging from using your iPhone as a trackpad (my personal favorite) to using it as a keyboard or controlling other programs on your computer such as PowerPoint and Windows Media Player.

Don’t ever get up from that couch.
The feature that excited me the most was the one that let me use my iPhone as a trackpad for my computer. I recently purchased a Samsung NC-10 netbook (highly recommended!), and its one major flaw is a miniscule trackpad. So, I immediately set up Nam’s Remote to act as a trackpad for my netbook. To my satisfaction, I instantly had a wider space to work with, though this was short-lived (more on that to come). The next feature I tried was the numeric keypad. This was actually pretty cool as I now had a dedicated number pad alongside my little netbook. If I worked a bit more with spreadsheets, I could see this being quite useful. The Finder and Explorer options allow you to have easy access to cut, copy, and paste functions, along with an arrow pad. Finally, I briefly confirmed that remotes for PowerPoint and iPhoto work as advertised. I’m not an avid gamer, so I didn’t check out remotes available such as the steering wheel or gamepad.

Anyone seen the remote?
With such a promising application offering an intriguing array of possibilities, Nam’s Remote has a lot of room for both potential and disappointment. As smooth as the setup was, I experienced numerous crashes with Nam’s Remote, both on my Macbook and on my PC Netbook. After several resets and an uninstall, I got the program to be more stable, but I can’t say that I trust it completely. It seemed that you had to reset or restart the program at least once before stability was achieved. I tried the app on several wireless networks, and didn’t notice too many differences either positive or negative. Since the developer is very young and this seems to be a side project for him, I’m unsure as to how much support or updates there will be for the application. Finally, I’m not sure I see much use for some of the functions. For example, I’m not sure when I’d prefer the keyboard on my iPhone over a full size keyboard.

Conclusion
Nam’s Remote seemed simple at first, but upon closer inspection, the application has the potential to be a huge one-app-fits-all program to controlling several parts of one’s computer wirelessly. With lofty goals and dedicated fixes, the developer has the opportunity to create and market a product that I could see a great demand for. Whether or not this actually happens remains to be seen. Also, the sensitivity of the remotes seemed a bit high on all of them. The mouse cursor would be jumpy, or one press of a button would cause two presses in the program. You could probably adjust your settings if you planned on using Nam’s Remote on a regular basis, though this involves additional legwork during the initial setup stages. At $2.99, I’d currently recommend holding out to see if updates begin streaming in, or else wait for another developer to create a more polished version. If you can’t wait or are just curious, there’s a free version of Nam’s Remote that provides a nice glimpse at the untapped potential of using your iPhone/iPod for so much more than just a phone, camera, and music player.

ScreenShots

Well, after a six long days of traveling and family get togethers for Christmas, I’m working my way through the Cydia apps that were released in the last few days. Below are a few notable WinterBoard mods. The first mod is a dialer mod which changes your phone keypad. Apple X Dialer, via BigBoss, does exactly what it sounds like….gives your dialer an Apple X theme. The second mod is a keyboard mod. Carbon Fiber Keyboard, via BigBoss, is a mod that will give your keyboard a carbon fiber look. Both of these mods installed and worked correctly for me. The third mod is my favorite…a Safari Progress Bar mod via BigBoss. This mod changes the loading bar in Safari when loading a web page. It comes in a few different colors including; Dark Blue, Aqua, Red, Orange, Lime, Green and Pink. All of these mods are activated via WinterBoard. SEe screenshots below.

Screenshots:

There are a couple of cool mods in Cydia that I thought I would mention. One is a dialer mod that is actually similar to very popular dialer mod for firmware 1.1.4 and below. Retro Phone Dialer (via modmyi) will change your dialer keypad to look like an old school pay phone dialer…it’s pretty cool! The other mod is a Cydia theme. enBuufydia (via modmyi) is a mod that will change Cydia to match the Buuf theme. I know quite a few of you use the Buuf theme so, here is just one more thing you can mod to match your theme! Both mods can be activated and deactivated via WinterBoard with no issues. Below are the screenshots of both mods.

Screenshots: