RedEye ($149) is one of the first actually available accessories capable of combining an App Store application and a Dock Connector accessory to expand the capabilities of an iPod touch or iPhone. The concept: RedEye has both Wi-Fi and Infrared capabilities, and lets you use your iPhone or iPod touch to connect via Wi-Fi and control Infrared devices such as a television, receiver, and DVD player found in the same room with a RedEye unit.
Initially, you plug the RedEye dock into the wall, insert the correct Universal Dock Adapter, and then run the RedEye application — a free download from the App Store. With the dock’s purplish blue bottom illuminated to show that the power’s on, the app can be used to set up the dock as a standalone device or with your existing 802.11b/g Wi-Fi network, letting you control your AV equipment via Wi-Fi.
You can also dock your iPod or iPhone for charging purposes. Thus far, we’ve played with the “public beta” RedEye app enough to see that it’s incredibly unstable and requires a lot of screwing around to set up the dock and the individual devices within a room — it’s nowhere near as straightforward as the Harmony universal remotes we’ve previously used and enjoyed.
