How come smart phones dont have IR

[maddoxrs]

I used to have a pocket pc that had an IR (infra red) transmitter on it. It came with a neat app that was compatible with almost all electronics. I could control all the TV's, DVD players, and radios in my house with it. The best use ever was you could set it up to change the channel of the TVs at the bars. I think it would be a cool and pretty simple thing to add that functionality in to a smart phone. Consider this my formal request.

 

[TPR300C]

This would be a nice feature but i think you might be in the wrong place to request it.

 

[woop]

How much battery would having IR take? I'm no engineer but I would assume it'd be a pain on the cell. I would also assume that with all the SARS rating restrictions, that the last thing a phone company would want to do is add more radiation. Might even cause interference with the radio frequency. Again, I am a peon in terms of knowledge concerning these things, just throwing out guesses.

 

[RootDaDuck]

you can control your tv as long as you have fios.

and IR is a dying technology...look how many things use RF or wifi to control there entertainment system...

 

[colnago]

I used to have a pocket pc that had an IR (infra red) transmitter on it. It came with a neat app that was compatible with almost all electronics. I could control all the TV's, DVD players, and radios in my house with it. The best use ever was you could set it up to change the channel of the TVs at the bars. I think it would be a cool and pretty simple thing to add that functionality in to a smart phone. Consider this my formal request.

Request granted:

Amazon.com: Nokia N900 Unlocked Phone/Mobile Computer with 3.5-Inch Touchscreen, QWERTY, 5 MP Camera, Maemo Browser, 32 GB--U.S. Version with Full Warranty: Cell Phones & Service

 

[IOWA]

IR was mainly used to transmit data between devices until bluetooth was brought mainstream, which is faster and more efficient.

Tapatalk. Samsung Moment. Yep.

 

[Pryomancer]

Transmitting data over IR between two phones was soul destroyingly long.

 

[bluenova]

How much battery would having IR take? I'm no engineer but I would assume it'd be a pain on the cell. I would also assume that with all the SARS rating restrictions, that the last thing a phone company would want to do is add more radiation. Might even cause interference with the radio frequency. Again, I am a peon in terms of knowledge concerning these things, just throwing out guesses.

Nar, IR operates on a totally different part of the spectrum so no way it could interfere with radio. Also the radiation is only light radiation so no problem there and think about how often you have to change the batteries in your TV remote, it doesn't use much power at all.

I think it's not included because the main function of IR on older phones was file transfer and this is superseded by Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. I do find it quite annoying though as I would like to be able to control my entertainment equipment with my phone. If there was a decent app I would look at getting a Bluetooth to IR converter.

 

[maddoxrs]

This would be a nice feature but i think you might be in the wrong place to request it.

Im in the right place I want it on my incredible, but I dont want to transfer data with it. I WANT TO CONTROL MY TV. My wife never lets me have the remote and Im sick of Housewives of New York.

 

[Jammy]

How much battery would having IR take? I'm no engineer but I would assume it'd be a pain on the cell.

I doubt it - think of how long a TV remote lasts on two AA batteries...

 

[big_z]

Space is the issue. Look at the teardowns of recent smartphones: not a cubic centimeter of extra space.

 

[Lukehluke]

I don't really think that smart phones need it.

 

[IOWA]

Definately not a neccesity. Go buy a $10 universal remote.

Tapatalk. Samsung Moment. Yep.

 

[colnago]

Im in the right place I want it on my incredible, but I dont want to transfer data with it. I WANT TO CONTROL MY TV. My wife never lets me have the remote and Im sick of Housewives of New York.

Just get a sling box. That way, you don't even need line of sight, and you can watch whatever channel/DVR material on your phone. That or buy a 2nd TV?

 

[IOWA]

Im in the right place I want it on my incredible, but I dont want to transfer data with it. I WANT TO CONTROL MY TV. My wife never lets me have the re

Just get a sling box. That way, you don't even need line of sight, and you can watch whatever channel/DVR material on your phone. That or buy a 2nd TV?

+1

A man should always have a backup boob tube

Tapatalk. Samsung Moment. Yep.

 

[dmodert66]

Just get a sling box. That way, you don't even need line of sight, and you can watch whatever channel/DVR material on your phone. That or buy a 2nd TV?

Slingbox for Android isn't out yet...It will be soon though ...

 

[colnago]

Slingbox for Android isn't out yet...It will be soon though ...

Yeah, still wating on my email notification ...still works on my Moto Q though. However that should not stop the OP from picking one up since its accessible via web browser or PC software...esp. if its on sale somewhere. I work from home and was watching World Cup on my TV, and F1 on my PC.

Not sure what I'm gonna do this weekend though:

- F1
- 24h of LeMans
- all kinds of World Cup
- Game 5

...I'm gonna have to send my girl to a hotel for the weekend. D&mn a New Jersey Housewife...but yeah, that Danielle is a crazy one.

 

[Demache]

Yeah, its not really that big of a feature anymore. My mom's old Sony Ericsson had it (and it was a dumb phone). But that phone is almost 6 years old. Bluetooth is far more common than it used to be, and the main purpose of IR was for file transfer, and Bluetooth took its place.

It would be interesting though, it someone made a device, that connects to your wifi network, and had an IR sender on it. Then you could make an app, or allow it to be pulled up through the web browser on a local IP address and control the TV that way. Then you could use any computer or mobile device that can connect to your wifi network to control your TV.

 

[rmac]

The issue isn't how much space it would take, or how much battery.

People abuse it. The End.

 

[IOWA]

The issue isn't how much space it would take, or how much battery.

People abuse it. The End.

And the left field post of the day goes to....