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Ever wanted to remote control your TV, Skybox and more with your mobile phone? Well now you can with a very impressive piece of software called irRemote from Psiloc. It couldn’t be easier to turn your Nokia N95 and any Symbian S60 mobile phone into a universal remote control, as long of course it has an infra red port!

The program itself is very easy to use, simply install and you will be greeted with this menu where you select what kind of device you would like to control, such as:

• Air Conditioning
• Amps
• CD
• DVD
• HiFi
• Home Theatre
• SAT
• Tuner
• TV
• VCR
• Other

As you can see the list is quite comprehensive! The interface is easy to follow and so is the configuration as you can easily add more devices to control and switch through them in a list view. Just select the device and then the make and model of it and you’re ready to go! A nice addition about this piece of software is that if your chosen device is not available, you can actually program it to make it work. Failing that you if you have WiFi or Internet GPRS/WAP on your mobile phone, it can connect to the Psiloc website and download presets for such devices made by other users.

You can also rate these presets to help others know if they work well or are simply broken. There are two default skins depending on your preference however I tend to stick to the lighter, default skin because it offers the most clarity. You can though download additional skins from the website and import them into the program to use.

I have used it to control my bedroom TV in the comfort of my bed since I have lost my original remote so for me it is a godsend. It does what it says on the tin and is very straightforward to use. You can also press the Hash (#) and Star (*) Keys to scroll through additional options for Teletext and menu screens.

In terms of battery life, I have found it to be slightly draining on my Nokia N95 so if you were to use this program and for example would start to watch a movie, I would suggest loading it when required. While it will not eat your battery alive, most Nokia N95 users know that battery life is rather important so anything that can be done to save it is good practise.

Performance is very good only if you have direct line of sight. This is more due to the IR sensor on the mobile itself so it might vary with other handsets. However once a clear line is established, there is no delay upon button presses so it acts like a remote control should. Loading times are pretty fast, in under 5 seconds for me with the main delay being the startup screen. All in all it does exactly as it says on the tin and costs £19.99. If however you want a trial then one is available here with full functionality for 10 days.

Summary
Efficient, fast and does exactly what it supposed to do. Updatable with presets and skins. Is it worth £19.99 when you can buy a physical universal remote control for the same price? That would be down to you…

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