Turning your iPhone into a remote sounds stupid, unless it’s for someone else’s television.

So we looked at this L5 Universal Remote and thought, “Huh. That’s kind of superfluous, isn’t it?” Is there anyone really needing to consolidate their remotes that badly that they would use this thing and the free app to turn their iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad into a universal remote? It’s not like you don’t already have a remote that works perfectly fine, right? And is tracking down the little attachment thingy to hook it up to your iPhone every time you want to watch TV any easier than just grabbing the remote?

No. Of course it’s not. But then it came to us. Why’s it have to control YOUR stuff?

All you need is access to a friend’s electronics. Anything with an infrared remote will work, so long as you have time to covertly configure it while your buddy’s getting nachos or something in the kitchen. After that you can drag and drop buttons on your phone to configure the remote however you want, and then the tomfoolery can begin. Recreate the infamous “Heidi Game” every five minutes!

Your hardest task will be keeping a straight face as your friend screams at his television for randomly flipping channels, his DVR for interrupting his show for a random infomercial playing on local access, and his entertainment center for suddenly blasting his mp3 collection at full volume.

Suddenly, this isn’t such a bad product!

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