A handy feature, but at a price. (Apple Remote)

Member Name: Jondot

Product:	Apple Remote
Date:	11/07/09 (4 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great remote range, handy features, compact

Disadvantages: £15?!; easy to loose, feels a bit plasticky

When I popped onto the Apple website the other day and started playing around with configuring a MacBook, I got a bit of a shock. Once you get past the various hard drive sizes and amounts of RAM, you get to accessories. And there was an Apple remote. Price: £15.

Sorry, £15? When did that happen?! When I bought my MacBook Pro just over a year ago, they chucked in one for free! And a DVI to VGA adaptor as it happens.

So, is it worth the £15? Well, yes.

It's actually quite a handy little thing to have. You can quickly adjust the volume of your system, pause/start any music in iTunes, as well as skipping tracks and fast forward/rewinding.

Aside from controlling DVDs, music in iTunes etc, the remote also opens up something called 'Front Row' - a sort of entertainment bit hidden away in your Mac. Press the menu button and it magically appears, letting you do anything from starting a photo slideshow to watching videos to playing music. Which might not sound that wonderful, but it's quite nice to control the computer without having to get up from your seat.

However, I'm a little frustrated that Apple don't throw it in for free anymore. It's a little disheartening to be honest. But, there is another way. Some Sony Ericsson phones have an application built in that does exactly the same thing over bluetooth - it's called, rather appropriately, 'Remote control'. Anyway, if you've got a compatible handset it's a great way to save yourself £15 ;)

It's also annoyingly easy to loose. In fact I did loose mine for about 6 months until it turned up in an obscure location. It'd be much better if Apple had bothered to find a slot for it on the MacBook or something. If they'd made it just a teensy bit thinner it'd fit perfectly into that mini-express card slot on the side. Oh well...

Summary: It's a handy thing to have, but should be free and could have been designed better

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