I guess the people over at Keyspan didn't think the simple and easy-to-use Apple remote was good enough for your iPod. The company has announced the TuneView as a more powerful alternative to the standard remote.

The TuneView sports a color LCD screen and two-way RF connectivity that allows you to fully control your iPod from across the room. The LCD screen displays exactly what your iPod is showing, which is definitely nice for those of us who don't automatically recognize songs and need the screen to tell us what is on.

The TuneView comes with a universal iPod dock, a USB power adapter, audio and USB cables, and selected dock inserts. In order to use the remote, you must insert the iPod into the dock, and let the RF transmitter do the rest. The dock and cables allow you to connect your iPod to powered speakers, your TV via the S-Video jack, and an AC outlet if you want to charge while you play.

Keyspan is promising periodic firmware updates to the TuneView to beef up its functionality, but except for the LCD screen, it doesn't add any unique features over the Apple A/V connection kit. The TuneView is available now for $179

Post by Don Reisinger