For a while it seemed like the Infrared port was going the way of the Dodo, to completely  be replaced by the much faster Bluetooth.  In reality it is apparently still quite popular, for the most part among businessman. For some reason it was skipped on the N96/N97 and somehow has found its way on the N900. To some this is an obsolete technology which time forgot, but in this case going back in time might actually be good for bleeding edge technology like the N900.

For some reason I didn’t know that the Nokia N900 actually had an Infrared port. Maybe it was because  I simply missed it among the plethora of wireless connectivity standards supported, or maybe I unconsciously thought that a device like the N900 would never support such a standard.

Now that I know that it does, I’m actually glad about it. A quick look at the N900’s specs doesn’t even mention that it has infrared, but pre-productions units and the online manual reveal that it does.

An interesting part in the manual also reveals that “None of the pre-installed applications of your device use the infrared port, but it enables the development of third party applications requiring an infrared port.” Considering the openness and the community of developers behind the N900 there’s a lot of potential here, especially as an universal Infrared remote. It doesn’t hurt neither that the N900 has a large, touch screen display, similar to many high-end universal remote controls.

Third party attempts, well at least for Symbian have been pretty much limited to Psiloc’s irRemote which had a extensive database, that sadly didn’t get updated. For these types of uses its key that the database be large and updated frequently.

I recently purchased a Logitech Harmony 1100 remote which has a huge, frequently updated database of devices which can be controlled via infrared. Now that I know that the N900 has an infrared port, the similarities become clear. Both can be programmed, both have a large touch screen and both have the ability to display virtual buttons. An application could in fact be created for the N900 to become a universal remote complete with virtual buttons. A key part again would the large database, maybe partnering with Logitech to make use of their database would surely complete the transformation of the N900 in a universal remote. They can even go as far as making a RF signal repeater so it can control devices from other rooms.

Based on this, there infrared still might have a few tricks up its sleeve, especially when it comes to the N900.

Would you like an application that turn your N900 in a universal remote control?