Apple TV gets multi-touch iPhone controller
Cupertino's favourite son and the black sheep of the Apple family have strengthened their bond, with a software update allowing you to control the Apple TV using multi-touch gestures on the iPhone.
iPhone 3.0 users can take advantage of the new features courtesy of this week's Apple TV OS2.4 software update. In addition, you can search Flickr photo tags and use Flickr images as screensavers. New view options let you view movies by genre, by movie or unwatched while TV shows and podcasts can be viewed by date, by show or unwatched. Apple has also added transport and chapter modes for use during video playback.
I finally decided to lay down some cash on an Apple TV this week, but I can't say I'm too excited about the idea of using my iPhone as a remote control. By the time I fish the phone out of my pocket (or wrestle it back from my kids), unlock it and then load up the remote app, it would be faster to just reach for the tiny Apple remote or else a universal remote control.
