Many phones also allow you to schedule TV recordings.
Living rooms can fill up with remote controls for your television, DVD player, cable service and stereo. Consolidate these devices by turning your cell phone into a universal remote control. There are several methods of achieving this depending on what kind of smartphone you own, and some companies offer the universal remote option on their devices, including the iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone.
Instructions
1. Research TV remote options based on your phone type, such as an iPhone, Android or Blackberry. Look at the price of installing a universal remote on your phone. Turning your Blackberry into a universal remote will cost about $100. Also review the price of any additional remote-related programs, if applicable. A program guide is available for free with the Blackberry phone for the first year of use, then is $20 annually.
2. Review the options concerning universal remote applications for your phone, if applicable. The iPhone, for example, offers several universal remote options, including the RedEye mini, which connects to your phone's ear jack and requires only the press of a button to watch a television show or movie. Blackberry phones offer only one universal remote option (as of December 2010), the AV|Shadow, a small box you plug into an outlet near your home theater system.
3. Install the appropriate universal remote software to your phone. Installing the RedEye mini on your iPhone requires using a free application to generate tones once you connect the RedEye to the ear jack. The RedEye then converts these tones to infrared signals. Blackberries require downloading the appropriate application on your phone, which will send a Bluetooth signal to the AV|Shadow plugged-in box. The application also lets you customize buttons as you see fit, such as "Favorite Action Movies."
Tags: universal remote, your phone, into universal, into universal remote, RedEye mini