…but we really like it thus far.

The IRB1 iPhone Remote Control is one of the most polished remote interface addons we’ve seen for the iPhone. It doesn’t do anything over WiFi and actually plugs into the dock connecter. There’s no built-in battery, it just uses the iPhone’s power to function. The companion iPhone app looks well designed, well, sort of. Some of the visual design choices seem questionable, but we’re glad the developers put more focus into the capabilities of the device than the aesthetics.

The RedEye was the first, and its new Mini is the cheapest universal remote option at $49 but isn’t shipping until Spring. It also plugs directly into the headphone jack… we think it would be all too easy to break that off, so we’re a little hesitant to go that route. There are other options like a case from Power A and a similar dongle from New Potato Technologies but this one appears to give us the most bang for the buck — $69.95.

The IRB1 comes with 40,000 IR codes built into the iPhone app and can learn the functions from your remotes if they’re not available in the database. The company explains that learned commands are incredibly small — 1MB of data represents about 800 codes. It can also function as your Apple Remote for iTunes and Front Row if you’d like. Amusingly enough, it has a “Take Control” function that lets you do just that if you’re out at the bar and want to switch channels. We’re not exactly sure how the feature works, but it’s a great way to make your table happy… and get thrown out of a bar. :D

Anyways, the company is showing the units are in stock, so grab one and let us know what you think. We’ve contacted the company for a review unit so we can put it to the test. We’ll hopefully be doing a review of each of the listed devices above so that we can help you decide what device would be best for your home theater setup.

Update: the developer is shipping us a review unit. We’ll have a full writeup in the near future.

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