Remote Mice and Trackpads – The last time I went to my local coffee shop to slurp a large Sumatra, with a splash of free Wi-Fi, I realized I had forgotten my wireless mouse. I’m not fond of using trackpads, especially the one on my Dell, so I broke out my iPhone and went to work with that instead.
Not long ago, I downloaded Air Mouse Pro, from R.P.A. Tech. As it name suggests, it’s an air mouse. It’s also a conventional mouse, a trackpad and a remote control for iTunes. Check out my review for more details.
I raved about Air Mouse Pro, but I have since looked at several remote mice and trackpad apps and I would use any of them in a pinch. When I get around to finishing the home theater PC I’m building, I’ll use my iPhone as a remote control from my comfy Barcalounger.
You can use your iPhone or iPod touch just as you would any mouse or trackpad, with left and right button clicks, scrolling and other functions using the real-world equal of either input device. Some are simple apps that you can use to move the cursor around on screen by tilting your iPhone or iPod touch. Others add features such as the ability to control iTunes and other apps.
You will need to download and install server software on your desktop Mac or PC and in some cases, Linux machine. The server software is invariably free, although the price of the apps range from free to $7.99 or so. Synching the remote and desktop should be automatic.
Mouse Mote, from Himperia IIS, lets you control your cursor by tilting your iPhone or iPod touch. $0.99. The developer says it will work on Macs, PCs and Linux systems, because it’s programmed in Java, but it’s best suited for Macs.
RemotePad, from tenjin.org, is an open-source remote capable of moving your cursor. I like that you can use it in portrait and landscape modes. And, it’s free.
Touchpad Elite, comes from Jugaari, which has a few remote control apps in the AppStore. I was impressed with Jugaari’s Jadu Remote, desktop remote app when I reviewed it with other similar apps.This one is promotionally priced at $0.99 and definitely worth a look.
Snatch Trackpad and Remote, from Hoofien, lets you create and label shortcuts. I also was impressed with this app when I reviewed it. The track pad in Snatch works surprisingly well, with little lag time. You can scroll, mouse click, drag windows — in sum, do all the usual track pad kinds of things. $5.99
ControlPad, from Tienshiao Ma, is a trackpad that can be tweaked for tracking speed and tap movement and with good keyboard features to boot. It uses VNC as a server, which makes it compatible with other VNC apps on your desktop. $2.99
RemoteTap, from Read Pixel, is stuffed with features specifically for Mac users. You can listen to audio, control your keyboard and so on, from a semi-transparent Apple Remote overlay. $6.99
For more articles like this, subscribe to the AppCraver RSS feed.
category: Round-Up, Utilities
