IR ports used to be standard on Pocket PC and Palm devices several years ago. I had a TV remote control app on my Dell Axim that used the IR port to send commands to the TV.
Why do we not see devices using IR ports any more? Think of the "Home automation" possibilities there could be with the PlayBook if it supported IR, or being able to use the phone as a TV remote...
I heard the new Vizio tablet has one built along with an intergrated app that turns it into a universal remote. Most people use Harmony remotes. I would actually prefer they have an IR built in my phone. Better yet, have the TV makers start making bluetooth remotes like the PS3 and intergrated as an app on smartphones. A company can actually make a simple IR add on that plugs into the 3.5 mm headphone jack and a third party app to turn the Playbook into a remote.
They can cram two cameras, two speakers a magnetometer and gyroscope (neither of which can be used yet) into the damn thing, but no IR port.
Have you played any games on your PB (or preloaded NFS?) I'm pretty sure the gyroscope is what senses the tilting of your PB to interact with the games.
Well my instinct was to give a sarcastic comment as well, but then one awesome use for an IR port came to mind. Make the PB into a universal remote for my home theater.
Imagine and amazing app writtin for the PB with awesome graphics and transitions. Would have loved that.
Well my instinct was to give a sarcastic comment as well, but then one awesome use for an IR port came to mind. Make the PB into a universal remote for my home theater.
Imagine and amazing app writtin for the PB with awesome graphics and transitions. Would have loved that.
Have you played any games on your PB (or preloaded NFS?) I'm pretty sure the gyroscope is what senses the tilting of your PB to interact with the games.
this is one of the reasons that i got the galaxy tab 2 it controls all my stuff in the front room its a very nice feature. hope more company's start putting them in. so far only vizio tab but that thing is so slow then i think the xybord by moto has an ir blaster and the galaxy tab 2
IR sensors were included in a lot of old laptops, PDA's etc. because they could be used to transfer data between devices. The problem was that these transfers were extremely slow. There are newer ways to transfer files much more quickly, so IR became obsolete.
RF would better then IR. A lot of set top receivers Satellite or cable. My amp also has RF for the remote, no direct pointing or direct line of sight. I don't get why RF hasn't killed IR already.
Maybe somebody could reverse engineer the IF/BT add-on for the Harmony remote that controls a PS3. Make an app for the PB that sends BT signals to the converter, which sends the commands to the TV via IR.