RemotePad: A free trackpad and for the iPhone

There are many free apps on the iTunes App Store. Lots of them are terrible, but occasionally you will run into a really good one. Well, RemotePad is that “one”, in fact, it may actually be my favorite free iPhone-to-computer application on the App Store. RemotePad allows you to use your iPhone or iPod Touch as a keyboard and trackpad, over a network. Plus it’s open source, meaning you can acquire the source code of the app, and basically help improve and modify the application, if you are into that sorta thing.

I love RemotePad because it does not require much installation. It really only involves Mac and PC users downloading the “RemotePad Server” and the RemotePad itself. Once you run the RemotePad server, RemotePad on your device (if its running, and if its on the same local network as your computer) should automatically find your computer, and once it finds it, you can simply select it, and then you should be allowed to use your device as a trackpad.

What sets this apart from some mouse and trackpad applications is that you get a keyboard as well, and considering how much similar apps cost, this is a really good deal. The creators of RemotePad did a very good job making this application, in the sense that they designed it so you can simply use RemotePad as a keyboard and mouse replacement. The developers designed the interface of RemotePad very well, making it very simple and minimal, allowing it to run fast and without complication. In this interface, you have the click button(s), the trackpad itself, and your easy access options, consisting of:

• Hide/Show keyboard
• Hide/Show button
• Setup (options)

A great feature in this application is the fact that you can even use the trackpad when the keyboard is up (great for web surfing), and you can even go as far as hiding the click button(s) so you have more tracking room above the keyboard. This application can run in landscape orientation as well, allowing you same functionality that its portrait counterpart has.

Under “Setup” on the main interface, you also have a large variety of options that you can change to your liking, ranging from changing the amount of click buttons (up to 3 – left, right, and center), to changing the tracking sensitivity, to enabling two finger scrolling, just to name a small few. Unfortunately, while there is two finger scrolling, four finger gestures (seen on the new Aluminum MacBooks) are not available, which is very disappointing, considering that I really use this gesture a lot, and it really is the easiest way to access the Mac’s Exposé feature.

What you may also consider a very flawed feature under the setup (options) is the, quote “Pseudo high pass filter”, or basically moving your mouse with your accelerometer. If you are familiar with Air Mouse for the iPhone, it is pretty similar to RemotePad in the fact that they both offer mouse control via accelerometer , a touchpad, a keyboard, and they both work fast (since it is runs over your local network). The only real difference, other than the interface, is the functionality of the accelerometer mouse controls, in which “Air Mouse” is better, though I personally don’t like the feature as a whole. The only thing that Air Mouse has, that is missing in RemotePad, is the formatting keys (command, option, control) on the keyboard. These keys are vital to executing keyboard shortcuts and should be built in to RemotePad to be a true keyboard replacement, though it is really intended to solely be a trackpad application.

I think every iPhone and iPod Touch owner should get this application, especially since it’s free and it basically works better than most of its competitors in terms of usability, features, and of course, price, despite it lacking formatting keys on the virtual keyboard, and the RemotePad’s accelerometer controls.

RemotePad is an open source, and free application for the iPhone and iPod Touch, and it is available from the App Store for free. [iTunes Store Link]