The Apple remote only handles so much unfortunately as we know all too well. Switching from Front Row to DVD Player or any other app can’t be done for instance. The little white device becomes nothing more than a poor paperweight in fact when trying to control any app that isn’t specifically a media or presentation tool. We normally get around this limitation by keeping a wireless keyboard and mouse handy, tucked away and out of sight until needed. Well I’m happy to report that our days of getting off the couch to reach for a keyboard or mouse are finally over because a handy little iPhone/iPod touch app has just rendered those battery sucking peripherals obsolete!

ControlPad's user interface is simple and functional.

ControlPad by Tienshiao Ma (link to developer’s blog) is a simple yet beautifully executed app that turns your multi-touch Apple iDevice into a wireless keyboard and mouse. As you can see from the image on the left, the interface divides the screen into a two button touch pad on top and a keyboard on the bottom. Communication is done using standard VNC protocols, so no installation is required on Macs running Mac OS X. However, because it’s VNC, it can be used to remote control any PC and OS that has a VNC server installed. The developers website even has step by step instructions for configuring your setup whether it be running Mac OS X, Windows or Ubuntu Linux.

Since I’ve already got my Macs set up to control via VNC and Screen Sharing, it took zero configuration on the computer end to start using ControlPad. It even automatically detected my Macs using Bonjour, so all I had to do was select my Mac from the list, enter my VNC password and within seconds I was controlling my Mac’s mouse and keyboard using my iPhone. It’s that simple. You can of course manually enter and save your PC or Mac’s network info and password to recall later with just one touch. If it wasn’t obvious, your Mac will need to be accessible over a WiFi network or via the internet and your iPhone or iPod touch will have to have network connectivity to be able to communicate with the computer. It even works on iPhones connected via a 3G or EDGE cell network over the internet.

The virtual touch pad is very responsive and allows you to do all the standard mouse click, double-click and drag operations. It even supports tap to click and two finger drag to scroll like the trackpads on Apple’s notebooks, which is a godsend if you’re surfing the web. To round out the features, the virtual keyboard seems to support all they keys you’d find on a full-size keyboard, and even supports modifier keys for key combos like Command+Option+Esc or Command+Tab. So there’s almost nothing you can’t do with this that you could with a real wireless or wired keyboard.

It’s hard not to love ControlPad for iPhone/iPod touch. The app isn’t perfect, but there’s not much to gripe about either. In my testing it has been fast, stable and responsive. I don’t really have any complaints, but I do have a couple of suggestions for improvements I’d like to see in a future update:

• It only supports TCP/IP port numbers up to 32767, even though port numbers upwards of 50000 should be perfectly valid. Update: Since the original review was posted, ControlPad has gained support for the full range of TCP/IP port numbers.
• As a Mac user, I’d like to see a per connection preference to have the ‘alt’ key aptly renamed ‘option’ when controlling a Mac. Update: The latest versions of ControlPad now seem to detect Mac hosts and displays a properly named ‘option’ key instead of ‘alt’.
• It would be nice if we could get a landscape keyboard when turning the device on it’s side. Since there wouldn’t be any room for the trackpad in landscape mode, it would be nice to be able to hide the keyboard to use a larger full-screen trackpad. Tilting the iPhone back to portrait mode could then return it to the default split-screen layout. Update: The developer did one better in a later release of ControlPad. Not only does turning the iPhone into landscape mode give you a landscape keyboard (thank-you!), but you can hide the keyboard and get a spacious full screen trackpad, great for doing extended complex mouse operations.
• This is a bit of a long shot, but one thing that I miss while using ControlPad to type on my Mac is the iPhone’s predictive spell checker. Maybe in a future update they could add a little text entry buffer so you could type your text with spelling correction on the iPhone, make any corrections and then send it all to the computer as keystrokes. That way we could benefit from the iPhone’s excellent typo correction system. Something you only realize you rely on when it’s suddenly not there to fix your clumsy thumbs’ mistakes.

ControlPad is available from the iTunes App Store for $2.99 CDN. In my opinion it is a must have app for any iPhone or iPod touch user who needs to control a Mac or PC that doesn’t have a keyboard or mouse within reach or if you want to do away with a mouse or keyboard altogether such as in a kiosk, presentation or home theatre setup. It works as advertised.

Rating: 4.5/5 Upgraded to 5/5 because of improvements added in the latest releases.
Product: ControlPad for iPhone and iPod touch
Version: 1.1.2 (iPhone OS 3.0 tested)
Price: $2.99 CDN
Developer: Tienshiao Ma
Website: http://www.tienshiao.org/iphone-apps/controlpad/
iTunes Link: Download ControlPad

If this is a problem that plagues you, and getting your calling, internet, emailing, media or gaming fix is more important to you than avoiding frostbite, then maybe the Etre Touchy gloves by Etre Ltd. just might be the solution you’re looking for. These gloves, reminiscent of sniper’s gloves, are missing the tips of the index finger and thumb on both hands, allowing you to have full utilization of the two most needed digits to control pretty much any portable digital device, from iPhones, Blackberries, and iPods to PDAs and portable game systems like the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS.

Etre Ltd. was kind enough to send me a pair of Etre Touchy gloves to try out late last year, so I figured I’d put them through their paces and let my readers know what I think.

The pair I tested were medium size, which should have been fine as I usually wear a medium glove, but these 100% acrylic woven gloves are pretty stretchy, so I probably would have done better with a small size, only they were only available in medium or large at the time. I have fairly large hands, but there’s not a lot of meat on them, so while the medium were a perfect fit for the length of my fingers, I found the gloves felt loose and I often had to pull them down at the wrists because they had snaked their way up and gotten a little bunched up on the palms. I just checked their website to see if a small size was now available and to my surprise I see that not only is small still not an option, but medium isn’t either. Hmmm. Doesn’t bode well. I’m suspecting that they are just trying to clear out remaining inventory, but maybe they’re just making room for a new and improved model, who knows.

One of the things I was most curious about was would wearing such gloves make me feel or look out of place. After an initial adjustment period where I was constantly fidgeting with my index finger and thumb, I did get accustomed to wearing them, and they were quite comfortable. I also think they’re rather stylish and go with most casual or business casual outer wear. The colour is relatively neutral, a dark charcoal grey, however they could do without the turquoise trim around the openings of the cut off digits. I’m pretty sure I know where my index finger and thumb are, I don’t need it pointed out to me, and I certainly don’t need to draw attention to the fact that my gloves are missing parts. I guess it’s a fashion thing.

I used a wide range of electronic devices while wearing the gloves, and have to say, they work as advertised. I had no problems at all operating my iPhone, Blackberry, digital camera or Sony PSP while wearing the gloves and it certainly beat not wearing gloves on those chilly autumn days. I say autumn because these gloves are too light for our cold Canadian winters. If you live in a milder part of the world where the temperature doesn’t drop much below 0° C, then these gloves will do a fine job of keeping your hands warm whenever you need it. However, they aren’t adequate much below that. Besides, it’s not a good idea to have exposed skin outdoors at below freezing temperatures. I should also point out the Etre Touchy are rather well ventilated due to their woven fabric, so they do a poor job of protecting your hands from the wind.

My next test was to try driving with them on. At first I though they’d be great for controlling the car stereo during my morning and afternoon commutes, and while that is true, the texture of the acrylic fabric is just way too slippery to feel comfortable (or safe) driving with them. They just don’t give you a very good grip on the steering wheel or stick shift. It didn’t help that they felt a little loose on me, so I also found them slipping on my hands and bunching up, requiring me to regularly pull them back down whenever I was stopped at a traffic signal.

Art of Geek’s Buying Advice

So what’s the bottom line? The Etre Touchy are a decent and comfortable light walking glove for above zero temperatures when you need to be able to use your electronic devices outdoors, and they work well for this purpose. They’re stylish and warm as long as it’s not too windy out, and pretty decent quality for their price. If you’re looking for a pair of gloves that fits this description, and have large hands, then this might be the right glove for you. If you need your gloves for driving or colder temperatures, I don’t recommend them.

Rating: 3.5/5
Product: Etre Touchy gloves (Charcoal with turquoise trim)
Price: £14.99 GBP (Approx. $26.32CDN/$20.94US)
Company: Etre Ltd.
Website: http://www.etretouchy.com/