Apple patent reveals iPhone as game controller

Mobile device to be used as virtual gamepad in Apple TV system

Apple has filed a patent that may end the first-world plague of hunting for your remote.
The system described is similar to the recently unveiled Microsoft SmartGlass, or even Apple's own Apple TV AirPlay tech, and allows a user to take control of a myriad of electronic devices through another device.

Though many possibilities were named such as laptops and tablets, the iPhone was singled out as the focus of the patent.
The system seems to be based on software rather than hardware, and works by detecting the frequency at which communications take place between a device and its controller. With that established, the system allows the chosen device to act as a proxy controller.
In other words, no more worry about which remote is for the TV, and which for cable.

http://www.develop-online.net/news/4...ame-controller