iPhone App: Rowmote Pro

January 3rd, 2010

= 5 stars

Control your Mac Mini using your iPhone with this remote-control app.

The Good

• On startup, you’re greeted with a white remote that is pretty clearly derived from the Apple Remote — this is a good thing.
• Tapping in the upper left corner calls up a trackpad with one button. While in the trackpad mode, shaking calls up an on-screen keyboard that slides in from the bottom. There’s a setting (Landscape-only Mode) that lets you rotate the iPhone to switch between the remote and trackpad.
• A clean, nice app launcher that lists all the apps I want to control (Front Row, Boxee, DVD Player, Hulu, iTunes, Plex, VLC, Safari) plus some menu commands (Quit Application). Especially neat: click Edit in the lower left corner to hide any of the apps, plus drag to change the order of the menu.

The Bad

• The trackpad lacks a right click button. Also not a fan of shaking to call up the keyboard; an option to show a button or tap to call up the keyboard would be nice.
• Not as many settings or customization options as Hippo Remote or Snatch, most notably no recording of macros or ability to design your own remote.

Conclusion

While lacking in customization settings and the trackpad functionality leaves a little to be desired, I really like the app launcher and the very simple, familiar design. Rowmote Pro suits my needs well, and I think I’ve found my iPhone based Mac Mini remote control app.

iTunes App Store Link: Rowmote Pro: Remote Control for Mac and Classic Apple TV — Evan Schoenberg