Peel TV App converts iPhone into remote control

A new app is has been developed for the iPhone which will allow use of the increasingly ubiquitous Apple device as a universal remote control.

The Peel Universal Control app will be available to download from the App Store, and currently works with TVs, cable boxes, DVD and Blu-ray players. With wider compatibility to arrive with future updates, it poses direct competition with the disputed champion of universal remotes, Logitech's Harmony system.

A much anticipated newer version will support Roku, Apple TV, and the Xbox 360. Ti-Vo has also been rumoured to be within Peel’s sights and it will be interesting to see how the Peel app will work with a DVR.

Peel - founded by a group of engineers who prevously worked for Apple - have created the app, which expands on an idea that has been floating around for years.

The Peel app differs from previous efforts by developers such as ThinkFlood, L5, and New Potato, all of which offer a similar product. These preceding attempts all required a dongle or expensive external hardware.

The Peel app however, differs in that it does not require an iPhone adaptor, it simply converges with a wireless transmitter connected to your router. Turn on the TV or change a channel with your iPhone and this is sprung over to the transmitter, then back to an external, battery powered, pear-like infra-red blaster - which goes by the name of the Peel Fruit. The IR blaster here can work for up to nine months on a single C battery.

The Peel app functions as a remote, a TV guide and also makes personal recommendations, based on users viewing habits. The Peel TV guide app has actually been available in the iPhone App Store in the U.S. since October, garnering rave reviews with its functionality  which makes viewing suggestions for the consumer, based on individual taste.