Jason Unger

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The iPhone is the perfect device to function as the ultimate convergence remote.

Think about it. Remotes suck. Nearly everyone agrees that there's not a truly great remote out there. They have too many buttons, poor user interfaces, and sometimes even use a stylus (which is ridiculous).

Even worse than remotes, however, are keyboards. Since Media Center PCs and Internet-connected consoles/TVs are an active experience (which is a bad idea, in general), you need a keyboard.

But really, who wants to use a keyboard with their TV? Nobody.

To balance the active interaction of typing in URLs (keyboards) with the passive experience of changing channels (remotes), you need a device that can function as both. The iPhone, with its portable form factor and touchpad keyboard, can.

(Sidebar: I call remotes a passive experience because you can't go OUTSIDE of what it allows you. You can only go up or down. Like the elevator vs. the Wonkavator)

Obviously, the iPhone is not the first touchpad controller commercially available. But nearly everyone who has used one agrees it's one of the best.

In the home automation space, both DIY solutions and manufacturer-created options for controlling your home systems have popped up.

SpeakerCraft's Jeremy Burkhardt has even said the iPhone will kill keypads.

"I hate to say it, but this is the beginning of the end for keypads," says SpeakerCraft president Jeremy Burkhardt. "Soon any keypad that isn't emulated on a device like the iPhone will be obsolete."

But don't you need some hard buttons — like for power, volume and channel? Well, maybe. There aren't a lot of hard keys on the iPhone — one power, two volume and a sleep — but I don't see that as a huge hinderance.

The idea here is that the iPhone may not permanently replace your universal remote (since you can't be talking on it at work while someone else wants to change the channel), but when you're in front of the TV, you whip it out of your pocket, bring up the interface, and do everything you need.

When you just want to see what's on, you've got the simple channel/volume/power interface. When you're on YouTube and want to search for a video, the keyboard pops up. It's the best of both worlds.

As I was writing this, Dave Zatz posted a video where he's controlling his TiVo with his iPhone over Wifi, using some Crestron functionality. See? It's starting.

Considering that so many consoles and TVs are getting WiFi, the capability is there. All we need is the official functionality.

Image of the GUI is from Residential Systems Design, which does Crestron and AMX programming.

The 2007 holiday buying season is over (except for those after-Xmas sales) and, for the most part, there weren't any gadgets I really wanted to buy at prices that I'd actually pay.

So, as 2008 is here, there are a number of tech toys I'd like to get — when the prices become a bit more reasonable.

Here are the 5 gadgets on my 2008 wish list.

1. iPhone 2.0
   I've talked about this a number of times, and have convinced myself that if it has the right features, I will switch.

   This would be the biggest "life-altering" product (as dramatic as that sounds) for me and the one that has the most non-entertainment usage.

2. Samsung's Duo HD Blu-ray/HD DVD Dual-Format Player
   Even though I've argued that skipping the format war is a viable option, a real dual format player would solve all of the problems, too.

   I don't want to re-build my DVD collection, but there are some discs I would buy (like Heroes Season 1 on HD DVD) that I wouldn't get in standard def. Since I won't risk choosing a format, I'm not getting anything.

3. A Home Theater PC
   This would more likely be something I'd build, but I'm tired of dealing with the dumb cable HD-DVR and don't want to throw down the monthly fee for a TiVo.

   For the past couple of weeks, we've been watching stuff using Media Center with my laptop plugged in to the TV. Even though we don't have a remote, it's pretty sweet.

4. Canon HV20
   Ever since my video camera pretty much died, I've been itching to get a new camcorder. At this point, it isn't worth getting an SD camera, and Canon's HV20 actually runs on MiniDV tapes (which I have plenty of).

   I've read good reviews and the price is just about in my ballpark, so this is a definite maybe.

5. iMac
   If I'm getting a new camera, I need a system that can do heavy video editing. With an iMac and Final Cut, I'd be able to do some of that.