Joel Johnson over at Gizmodo has posted a glowing review of Air Video, a $3 iPhone and iPod touch compatible app that can stream videos from a server PC over a local area network via Wi-Fi or remotely over 3G. Besides the incredible price, Joel was impressed by how easy Air Video’s Mac OS X / Windows server application is to configure in order to share folders/files from the computer itself or from a NAS. He also liked the fact that H.264 files are streamed automatically while non-H.264 files (even massive 1080p Blu-ray movie rips, if you’re PC is up to the processing task) are transcoded on-the-fly for instant playback. There’s even an option to convert a video file to H.264 for future use. All in all, Air Video sounds like a must-have app for any digital home enthusiast who has a large collection of videos they want to tap into through their mobile device. MORE »

Good news for Apple iPhone and iPod touch users. Logitech has added a new app to the iTunes App Store called Touch Mouse. The FREE app turns your handheld into a wireless remote for your Windows or Mac computer (requires installation of the Touch Mouse Server software). Touch Mouse’s feature highlights include: multi-touch trackpad, keyboard (including CTRL, ALT, super key), left/center/right 3-button mouse setup, two-finger scrolling, on-screen text display while typing, and landscape and portrait operation modes. Not bad, Logitech! Alternative Logitech product: diNovo Mini.

Image credit: OhGizmo!

It occurred to me that the Apple iPad has no native, cross-platform media streaming capabilities (a big missed opportunity if you ask me). Being the case, I did a quick search on Google for an iPhone app, since most are compatible with the new iPad, and discovered PlugPlayer (iTunes – $4.99). What’s interesting is that not only does PlugPlayer allow you stream and playback music (including FLAC and OGG Vorbis), photos, and video from any network connected DLNA/UPnP storage server or PC it also allows you to remotely control a music player docked iPod Touch (similar to the Tango remote app we covered earlier) with your iPhone — and I’m guessing via the iPad as well. Below is a quick user-created video demo of the software in action. MORE »

For the person who owns both an iPod Touch and an iPhone, Tango (FB page) may be an app you’ll be interested in. Tango enables one to control an iPhone/iPod Touch’s music collection with another iPhone/iPod Touch over Wi-Fi. Tango, from just about any room in the house, can show you what’s playing, adjust the volume, play/pause, skip tracks (forward and backward with a shake of the control device in hand), select playlists, shuffle songs, and even create new playlists without iTunes. Not bad for 99-cents (introductory price). Plus, you’ve got to like the fact that Tango is putting your extra iPhone/iPod Touch to work in a useful way. MORE »

It seems that just about every month or so we see a new software based remote app for your HTPC — some good, some with limited functionality. Well, here’s another one to add to your list. However, judging by the functionality of Remotely Possible, this may be the iPhone / iPod touch HTPC remote app to have [$2.99 - iTunes Link]. As you’ll see in the video, Remotely Possible can detect all networked Windows PCs with its accompanying installed software via Wi-Fi and control selected computers. Once a PC is selected, one can then launch any application (i.e. Windows Media Center, Hulu Desktop, SlingPlayer, etc.) and control it via touchpad gestures or virtual buttons (editable: look, layout). What’s more, users can download control button profiles to match product remotes and even use the iPhone’s hardware volume controls to adjust sound. MORE »

Folks who already have or are considering a HomeSeer-based home automation system will be happy to learn that they can now manage their devices directly from an iPhone using the company’s newly released iPhone HSTouch client. What’s more, since HSTouch is IP-enabled, users can manage their home(s) remotely via the app. The new HSTouch iPhone / iPod touch client is available now as a free download on iTunes and works with HSPRO or with HS2 + HSTouch. MORE »

Moonsoon Multimedia is getting in on the iPhone placeshifting action. The company’s HAVA Mobile Player app for iPhone / iPod touch has just been approved by Apple and offers users a convenient way to access their home HAVA adapter attached to a cable, satellite, DVD, or TiVo set-top for remote viewing and management. The app is available now via iTunes for $9.99. MORE »

Mac folks will be happy to learn the Elgato’s EyeTV PVR software now, in conjunction with the new EyeTV iPhone app, has the ability to stream both recorded and live TV directly to their iPhone or iPod touch. In addition, users can access the program guide, view program info, and set recordings. According to Elgato, the EyeTV iPhone app can automatically find your Mac via a router that supports UPnP or NAT-PMP portocols. However, if your router does not have those capabilities, one can use a dynamic DNS service to get the communication link established. The EyeTV iPhone app is listed for $4.99 and is available now through iTunes. MORE »

A while back Apple released the Remote app for iPhone and iPod touch that allowed users to wirelessly control iTunes on their Mac. Now, Apple has added finger gesture control functionality to Apple TV — requires Apple TV software update 2.4 and the latest version of Remote. Another nice feature of Remote, users have the ability to search for media using the handset’s QWERTY keyboard. [via] MORE »

We covered Simplify Media’s original iPhone / iPod touch App back in August of ‘08 and came away impressed by its ability to stream music from your home Windows / Mac / Linux computer remotely — including music libraries from up to 30 of your friends. Now the developers of Simplify Music [app link] have added additional features like UPnP support, FLAC, and favorite tagging across your network that make the $5.99 app worth every penny (currently on sale for $2.99 until 5/14). MORE »