Entertain Yourself from the Couch - iConnected: Use AirPlay, iCloud, Apps, and More to Bring Your Apple Devices Together - page 79

play like you used to). Compatible with a vast selection of iOS games, the iCade connects via
Bluetooth. It costs $130, but is often sold for $60 to $100.
Cheaper at $80 (but often sold for around $40) is the Duo Gamer ( www.duo-games.com ) , an
Apple-approved game controller for iOS devices. Although the controller is fairly ugly, it offers a se-
lection of controls akin to a modern console and is compatible with all Gameloft's current iOS titles.
Annoyingly, that's as far as this device goes, lacking support for any other iOS games.
At the cheaper end of the spectrum are the $10 ThinkGeek Joystick-It Arcade Stick for iPad
( www.thinkgeek.com ) and the $30 ThinkGeek iCade 8-Bitty , two lightweight controllers for iOS
devices with very different approaches. The Joystick-It is ingenious in that it sticks to the screen of an
iPad with a suction cup, providing you with a joystick to control any iOS game that uses a virtual con-
trol pad. The iCade 8-Bitty is a Nintendo-esque controller that connects to iOS devices via Bluetooth
and provides a simple way to control games without getting the screen too grubby with constant taps
and swipes. With buttons as well as a control pad, the iCade 8-Bitty offers a little more control than a
virtual control.
Remote-Control Your Entertainment
With an iOS device by your side, you have a unique and endlessly useful remote control at hand.
Whether you want to control your Apple TV, your Mac, or even your video recorder in some cases, an
iOS device can do it all without you leaving the sofa. Getting up to look for a specific remote or find a
movie or any other file on your computer will be a thing of the past. For this couch-potato nirvana to
become real, all your devices need to be connected to the same Wi-Fi network and be switched on.
Control an Apple TV from an iOS device
Apple's free Remote app lets you use an iOS device as a remote control for your Apple TV, allow-
ing you to browse, search, and stream more easily. Unlike the physical remote that comes with your
Apple TV, the Remote app allows you to use gestures on your iOS device to control the onscreen
menus. That's a lot easier than clicking left, right, up, or down. The app is also a godsend for search-
ing with keywords, allowing you to use the iOS onscreen keyboard to type rather than enter individu-
al letters using the physical remote to move through a list of letters and select each one in turn.
Once your iOS device is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your Apple TV, follow these
steps to control your Apple TV with the Remote app.
1. Launch the Remote app.
2. If an icon for the Apple TV doesn't appear on screen, tap the Device Select button.
3. Tap the Apple TV you want to use from the list of Apple TVs and iTunes libraries (see Figure
4-5).