Remote Control to Control iPhone/iPod

November 18, 2011 1:03 PM

Is there a remote that CONTROLS the music on the iPhone (4s)? Google searches reveal only how to use the phone as a remote for other things. I need to keep the iPhone hooked up to a speaker in the back of the room, and trigger it with *something* to make the music go on and off. Any ideas??? Thanks!
posted by largecorp to technology (8 answers total)

You can buy an airport express and stream music to it with an iPhone.
posted by wongcorgi at 1:09 PM on November 18, 2011

Apple's Universal Dock comes with a remote. The 4S isn't specifically mentioned in that document but the 4 is, so I'm sure it would work just fine.
posted by bcwinters at 1:12 PM on November 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

Try Airfoil. You run Airfoil Speakers on an iOS device and then it streams music from you computer. You can then control it with a computer or another iOS device.

I stream music from my laptop to my iPod Touch, and then control the music my laptop plays using my iPad (iOS Remote app). iTunes is playing the music on my laptop, but Airfoil allows you to use the iOS device as the computer's speakers.
posted by trueluk at 1:30 PM on November 18, 2011

A bluetooth headset? iPhone supports play/pause/next via Bluetooth.
posted by misterbrandt at 1:33 PM on November 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

The basic Apple Remote can be bought without the Universal Dock if all you want is the remote.
posted by briank at 1:56 PM on November 18, 2011

The basic Apple Remote can be bought without the Universal Dock if all you want is the remote.


You still need the dock, that's where the receiver is.
posted by neustile at 1:56 PM on November 18, 2011

A semi-expensive ($99) work-around would be buying an Airport Express and hooking that up to the speakers so that you can carry around the phone and use the AirPlay function. It is so worth it.
posted by urbanlenny at 2:02 PM on November 18, 2011 [2 favorites]

Tango Remote($5) (itunes store link) allows you to control music playback from the app from another iOS device.

Alternately, if you can find one, the Sony MW600(~$43) (google link) has a 3.5mm headphone jack, and stereo bluetooth audio support. This lets you throw audio from a pc, mac or an iphone, and it supports pairing with multiple devices.
posted by davemee at 6:44 PM on November 18, 2011